Gekirin: The Way of the Shinigami
by Virilis
Summary: Being Rewritten; Please see, Gekirin: Shinigami no Seito.
1. Shinigami's Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

Alright, this story is about Ichigo's grandson and his life, his death, and his future as he follows "The Way of the Shinigami"...

Note: Gekirin means "Imperial Wrath."

* * *

Prologue

In all of Spirit World, there are billions of Hollow.

As the number of human souls increase, so do the amounts of chances of Hollow souls to arise from the depths of darkness. Consumed by hate, malice, and sorrow, these monsters fed upon human souls, gaining power. Some, even consuming Hollow and Shinigami souls alike. Those who ate the souls of others gained strength, gaining the power needed to prey upon stronger souls, thus gaining more energy to evolve.

Such cases there are, when these foul creatures gain enough power to evolve to higher levels of their 'Hollow-hood.'

Many Shinigami know of this so-called 'evolution'. They resent it. They avoid it. They _fear_ it.

Why? The reason is that the limits for hollow are unknown, reaching heights faster than the average Shinigami, leaving the gap wide between strengths. A 'lesser' Hollow may be of weaker or equal strengths of an average Shinigami, but the average hollow proves to be too much for even several of the everyday death-god. Even then, there are Hollow that achieve the level of Menos Grande, with the first stage of Gillian being a large and dull, but powerful beast, capable of using the dreaded Cero. From that point, one out of every twenty Gillian retain a self-consciousness, gaining the ability to move on to the more powerful form of Adjuchas. The Adjuchas, retaining a high combat ability and intense fighting instinct, becomes a Shinigami's nightmare. The process does not stop there! No, those Adjuchas that consume more hollow continue to evolve, becoming the ever-feared Vasto Lorde, the peak of natural Hollow evolution. These general-types, are equal to or above that of a Shinigami Captain's power and ability. The extent of intelligence and skill that these 'beasts' hold, are a match for even the most veteran warriors in all of Soul Society.

And the gap in the ratio of Hollow to Shinigami increase.

For every Shinigami in training, at least three or more Hollow are born. For every human death, three out of five become Hollow. For every Hollow killed, three more appear. The question arises, how does Soul Society plan to stop this ever-extending rift?

The answer is, they can't.

In history, this has happened before, before the time of the lords, royalty, and clans.

It has happened before the time of Sereitei and Rukongai.

It was a reality before the dissension between the Gotei Thirteen.

It was a time when all of the Shinigami were under one banner.

The time of unity of all swordsmen under the original three most powerful Shinigami.

The era of the Seirei Tai (The Holy Ghost, Trinity).

* * *

To understand the "Time of Serei Tai," one must first learn of it's leaders and their origin.

There is a belief, of a god and goddess named Izanagi and Izanami, who created all the Earth and its lands. From the depths of the ocean to the zeniths of the mountaintops. They were responsible for creation, and its little pleasures and mishaps. However, due to the strain of giving birth to the lands of the Earth, Izanami died, and she was sent to the depths of the Underworld. Izanagi, in his distress, attempted to go to the Underworld and save his beloved wife, but was horrified at the sight of her decayed Underworld-form and fled. To cleanse himself of the sinfulness and unholiness he had witnessed, Izanagi took the time to take a purified bath. It was in the time of his bath, that the creator-god wept. From his right eye, a tear fell, becoming what we know as "Tsukiyomi," the god of the moon. From his left, a tear fell, becoming the goddess of the sun, "Amaterasu." Finally, he sneezed, and the snot became what was recognized as "Susanoo," the storm god of the sea.

Izanagi granted each of them their appointed fields, and they went on with their work. At one point, it was told that the three were apart, and argued much.

Then they realized that there were human deaths, and many of them needed a place to go, free from wandering aimlessly as souls on the Earth.

The three, even separate from each other, understood the gravity of the situation as more and more human beings began to die, and pulled their acts together. Meeting to talk of the event befallen upon them, the three siblings began to start guiding souls, with a tradition of tapping the foreheads of those who deserved a place in their 'Heaven.' However, not long into the process, they noticed that there were human souls that were corrupt and filled with mal-intent. These souls began to morph, turning into what they decided to call 'oni' or 'youkai,' beings of the Underworld. But it was not so. The beings of spirit were different from actual creatures of the depths, and actually consumed human souls instead of seducing them or killing them for pleasure. It was then that the three siblings noticed the odd hole in these creatures, that seemed to be placed where the heart was to be.

It appeared to the three gods that the creature's hearts were missing, as opposed to a soul that was 'good' or 'evil', which had hearts to show their deeds performed when alive. As such, they decided to call these creatures 'Hollow-Hearts,' for the empty hearts that they had. To fend off and prevent being devoured themselves, Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu and Susanoo all forged swords as their chosen weapons. Each weapon, as expected, had a concealed form with a hidden power. Tsukiyomi, held a mirror that would reflect any attack, Amaterasu wore a necklace that could bring fires that were able to burn any substance to ashes, and Susanoo had slain an eight-headed snake demon to obtain a sword that could bring the violent wind and rain of the sea.

Together, they used their new weapons to exact justice upon these evil creatures.

However, the three gods discovered that the 'Hollow-Hearts' were multiplying at an alarming rate.

To combat this oncoming threat, the descendants of Izanagi decided to obtain help. Their goal was to train those they sent to 'Heaven' to help them in slaying these hollow and guiding innocent souls to where they needed to go. Each 'guide' was given a sword, simple, without hidden powers or anything of the sort, and was sent to seek human souls that had entered the realm of spirits. Over time, the process was going smoothly. But it was not smooth for long. It was found that the 'Hollow-Hearts' were getting stronger and had even devoured the servants that the three siblings had sent.

In anger and fear of losing all their 'guides', Tsukiyomi proposed to his fellow brother and sister that they grant each 'guide' a hidden power concealed within their sword, similar to theirs. The two agreed with him, and they called back all the servants of 'Heaven' to develop powers. To do this, they instructed all the servants to search within themselves for the hidden spiritual power, the energy they would need to fight with their sword's new features. When most of the swordsmen had found their power, Amaterasu instructed them to use this energy to heal fellow swordsmen, or destroy the wretched 'Hollow-Hearts'. It was then, that Susanoo named their special servants the feared death-gods, or Shinigami, who would choose who would go to 'Heaven' or 'Hell'.

As the leaders of these Shinigami, three gods decided to call themselves Seirei Tai, the holy trinity.

* * *

In the beginning of the Shinigami's time, Seirei Tai organized all those capable and prepared for combat into a massive and formidable army of one thousand shinigami in their command. Their chosen objective was to cleanse the world of these 'Hollow-Hearts', and obtain peace within the spirit realm. During this process of assembly, Tsukiyomi decided to call upon the help of his father, Izanagi. When he went to the uttermost depths of 'Heaven', the moon god discovered that he could not find him. In panic, Tsukiyomi called to order his two siblings and frantically searched together for the almighty creator god.

At the end of their search, they found next to Izanagi's bath, a sword.

This sword, being of a unique design in which they've never seen, guessed it was their father's and hid it away in what seemed to be a deep cave within the depths of the Earth, so that no one would stain the blade's purity with foul blood.

In the battle that followed, the Shinigami obtained victory, but at a cost.

The three gods were mortally wounded, and were said to have sealed their own souls into their weapons, and sure enough, the Shinigami followers found three swords, each with the hilt of a color of red, blue, and purple.

* * *

The Shinigami were in distress, and were in chaos as they had just lost their three supreme leaders.

In a grand battle royale that, literally, shook the heavens, thirteen skilled warriors arose. These powerful veterans self-claimed leadership within 'Heaven', with their own group of followers. With this, the Gotei Thirteen Protection Squads were born. Each squad had their own unique leader with their own set of rules, morals, ideals, and goals, seeking to be the strongest of the thirteen Shinigami groups. The squads constantly fought, struggling to gain control of each other and all of 'Heaven'. After time had passed, the thirteen sets of Shinigami found that they could not surpass each other, and came to a truce, forming the Captain's Council. This council would be where the captains of each squad would come together to discuss matters at hand and how to deal with trouble or new ideas at hand.

After a while, the Shinigami themselves had formed more complex forms of government, judgment, and organization. Clans arose, and so-called royalty became dominant within the lands of 'Heaven', and influence among leaders became swayed and biased. Tensions arose, but order was still in place as more and more souls came to 'Heaven'. The captains struggled to keep peace as some souls could not activate their reiatsu abilities while others could, and prejudice arose between Shinigami and the plain old souls of the vast majority. Fights and arguments broke out, and many of the defenseless souls were slain, while Shinigami in the streets were overwhelmed by the masses of the souls without special energy.

It was at this time that the thirteen leaders decided that the souls of the Shinigami and other souls were not worthy of 'Heaven', and worked to create an alternate dimension outside of heaven for all spirits to reside and live. It would be a place where reiatsu would make the land and form buildings and homes.

Within this new dimension, the captains and the judicial branch of the Shinigami created Seireitei, the holy place, for Shinigami to live away from the other souls to prevent dissensions. A great wall was built to prevent anyone from getting in or out without the death gods' consent. Outside of Seireitei, was Rukongai, a rather plain and dirty place for normal souls. Many spirits began to dislike the Shinigami even more for this.

Every week, out of Seireitei, a death god came from within to search Rukongai for capable Shinigami to train. As such, any soul with the ability to make use of reiatsu was taken away to the inner parts of the holy place to train. Over time, the more advanced souls taken from Rukongai gained special privileges according to their abilities. New ways to elect captains came to being and every now and then a field exercise in the living world was taken to train against actual 'Hollow-Hearts.' Over time, however, death gods began to call the creatures 'Hollow' for short, and the true name lost.

The leaders of all of the land in this place watch over the souls grow and progress, then die to take their place in the 'True Heaven,' or repeat their life on Earth depending on how they had lived.

From then on, the captains named and called this new dimension, 'Soul Society', and it has been the same ever since.

* * *

AN: Well this has been a pleasure writing for all you readers out there. Just so you know, I used stuff from the legends of deities in Japan to explain things; I didn't make it up, and that part of the story doesn't really belong to me, other than how I chose to incorporate it into the story-line.

Please send Reviews! I need them to see what people think!


	2. ACT 01: GWS CH01

Alright pplz, here it is. Send in reviews!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

Note: Any form of historical or city landmarks or sites that are referenced here in my fanfic may or may not be real so plz do not go to Japan and look for it lol.

* * *

Chapter 1

"This is Alpha One to HQ, 19:31 (7:31 PM), Target-Base on sight. Spotted a member."

"Standby Alpha Team. Bravo Team, pursue."

"This is Charlie Team to HQ, in position, ready to receive orders."

Several Japanese SAT (Special Assault Team) members moved into position, ready to carry out any order sent from headquarters. The units came to eliminate a special terrorist movement, the offenders calling themselves, the 'Kuro Kami', the dark-god. The terrorists had taken a hold of an old warehouse, arming themselves and refusing to meet the demands of the government, resisting to the bitter end.

Today, they will meet their end by the civilian counter-terrorist organization, the SAT.

Following up on recent events, three squads with four members each, with another back-up squad were sent to take out the leader of the Kuro Kami and end the foul threat to society before any severe damage was dealt. Formerly, the Kuro Kami was not much of a threat; it was nothing but a gang. However, the leader, who called himself Hans, declared to the government to send him large sums of cash or else he would bomb a sector within the Kanto region, which in itself contained Tokyo, the nation's capital.

That was unacceptable by all means, and the Japanese SAT would do their extreme best to take the threat down.

"Those greedy bastards..." Delta Two sighed into the radio, "Tryin' to take over by threatening to bomb civilians..."

"Hey," Alpha One quickly called out, "this is an open channel among the squads. Don't say anything that's not a part of the mission."

"But it is-"

"Can it Delta Two," Delta One cut him off, "get serious. We're about to start."

Delta Two quickly stopped talking and re-adjusted his scope and checked his clip.

Then it happened.

A large bang was all Delta Two heard and he snapped his head to Charlie Team's position. A huge screen of fire and smoke filled the area and was covering the sky with dark plumes. Gun fire could be heard from the north and he quickly took a stance for whatever hell was coming. His partners, Delta Three and Four quickly took his flank and side, while his team leader, Delta One, began to shout orders for the upcoming fight. Being the soldier that he was, he brought the sniper rifle up and stared through the scope. Delta Two quickly capped several targets and scanned the area on the right of the warehouse. It was then that he saw it. A band of thugs with a center-man holding an rocket-propelled-grenade launcher aimed for his team's direction.

"Incoming!" he shouted, "RPG!"

His team scattered as the projectile whizzed past their heads. The explosion behind them blew the soldiers forward and Delta Team fell to the ground.

Hugging the land, Delta Two quickly looked through the scope once more as he shot for his life. The noise was loud and his heart was pounding so hard he felt as if it would burst any moment. This wasn't supposed to happen; Delta Team was never meant to be in the hot-zone. The plan was to have Alpha and Charlie sweep the building as Bravo quickly took care of anything they missed. Delta was just supposed to sit behind and made sure everything was going alright. The radio was screaming in his ear as Delta Two unwillingly listened to the open channel broadcast the other teams' cries of frustration and desperation.

"Dammit! This is- _static_ – team," Alpha One's voice came in, "We need back-u- _static_ – dammit! Delta, Bravo! Where the he- _static_ – you guys?!"

"This is Bravo! - _static_ – We're having trouble of our own!" Bravo One sounded frantic. "We also need reinforcements! What the hell happened – _static_ – to Charlie team?!"

Delta Two was now in total panic. Both teams had trouble fighting on the front line, and an entire squad was incapacitated to boot. He was thinking of all possibilities of what to do in the situation. In a total of five seconds, he thought of four possibilities. One, Delta squad would take route to head over to Alpha and help them there. Two, they could choose to go to aid Bravo, and neutralize the threats in their area. Three, they could split the team into two pairs and head to both squads. Finally, they could stay where they were and guard their sorry asses. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to Delta Two to make the decisions; that was Delta One's responsibility.

"Alright guys," Delta One began.

_Shit, here it comes._ Delta Two quickly thought. _Which decision will he make?_

"Delta Three head over to Alpha, and Four, go help Bravo while I check out Charlie Team's area. Two, you go to the rooftops and watch with your sniper rifle from above."

_The fuck? That wasn't in my calculations. Ah, shit. We're all separated._

"Whatever happened to the word 'team'?" asked Delta Two, "We can't do this right if we're not together."

"Can't risk not helping any of the two remaining teams," One sighed, "and I've got to make sure if there are any survivors in Charlie Team's area."

Delta Two nodded his head and quickly turned to head over to the nearest ladder. He quickly climbed up the ladders on the sides of the urban buildings and was now in full access to the rooftops. He could easily jump the distances between each building and had a clear view of the entire area. Running to the center-most position, he quickly reloaded his rifle and fixed his scope settings.

He could see that the enemy had stopped firing and the area clear of any hostiles... at the moment. Checking Alpha's area, he saw that one of the men were down, and the other three caring for his needs. In Bravo's sector, two men were incapacitated and the other two tried to drag their allies to a safer area before an enemy showed up. He could see his other two teammates closing in on the selected meeting points and form up with the survivors. As for Delta One, he could see the team leader trying to search under debris for any fallen comrades. So far, the soldier had pulled out two bodies, and as for the other two... unattainable.

The mission was practically FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Repair). How were they all to complete the mission now? Nearly five good men were lost and now the enemy could come and counterattack any second.

"Dammit..." Delta Two said to himself. He opened up a private radio channel to HQ. "HQ this is Delta Two, please respond."

"- static – Two, this is HQ... Do you copy?"

"We have a bit of static, but I think we'll manage. The situation here is really bad."

"Report."

"One man from Alpha is down..." Delta Two checked the area again, "and Bravo has two down. Charlie is gone."

Silence.

"HQ?"

"Delta Two, this is HQ, anything else?"

"Yeah, Delta is split up. Three is with Alpha, Four with Bravo, and Delta One is at Charlie's site. I'm on a rooftop covering from above."

More silence.

"Delta Two, proceed as instructed by Delta One. Does anyone else know of the situation?"

"I haven't told them yet."

"Get on it, soldier."

"Roger."

Once again, HQ didn't help at all.

"Delta One," Two called into the radio. "Please check in."

"What is it? Over."

"The situation from what I can see is practically FUBB (Fucked Up Beyond Belief)... Over."

"Tell me about it!" His voice was ragged and hoarse, "Tell the others, over."

"Got it, over."

Once again, Delta Two activated the Radio to tell Bravo and Alpha simultaneously.

"Hey guys."

They all responded with a dreary voice.

"Er, um guys, from what I can tell, the mission is FUBAB (Fucked Up Beyond All Belief)... Um, over."

"No, really?" Alpha One shouted into his own headset. "It's fuckin' unbelievable!"

"Yeah, but we can't abort."

"..." Alpha paused. "You're shittin' me." His voice was full of disbelief and denial.

"I just radioed in to HQ, they said continue."

"... Do we have back-up?" Bravo One's voice came in.

"From what I heard... no."

"We're screwed," both of them bluntly replied.

* * *

In downtown Tokyo, masses of people were walking in the streets, minding their own business, continuing their daily lives regardless of the news that had appeared onto the news on the screens within the stores of malls and behind glass windows. Some stopped to watch, while others kept on walking.

There was one particular couple, a pink-haired girl with stunning blue eyes sitting at table outside in front of an ice cream shop. She was of a slight, athletic build, with a slender look to her figure. The girl was shyly sipping at her chocolate milkshake and her gazed darted across every now and then... to the boy across from her.

He was rather muscular, fine jawed, and definitely more in depth with his "looking of age." His hair was brown, but had peculiar streaks of orange here and there. It looked of highlights, but surely natural. His yellow orbs slowly shifted from side to side, making sure there was no one else he knew peeking in on them and the situation about to unfold. The male kept a warm, gentle face of calmness, but inside, he was quite nervous and excited at the same time.

Who could blame him?

It was his first real date with a girl he'd known since kindergarten. So why the nervousness? It was like a jittery, "butterflies-in-my-stomach" kind of feeling. He couldn't shake it. He couldn't avoid it. He couldn't deny it. He was definitely in love. A love of knowing someone for so long, knowing their every habit, every pet peeve, every like and dislike, and pretty much everything else.

That's why he'd asked her in the first place.

"Ano (ano; hey)..." They both started. Staring at each other for a "way out," they gazed into each other's eyes for a while. "You first," they both blurted.

"Sorry," the boy quickly started, "Aoi-chan (chan; suffix for younger or close females), you can go first."

"No, it's nothing," she exhaled, "Shin-kun (kun; suffix for younger or close males), you can go..."

"Um, no really, you can say what you want first..." he began to scratch his head, now staring into his strawberry shake. He really didn't want to make things more awkward then it was, but finally decided to speak after a minute's silence. He could see that the poor girl was beginning to blush at his unspoken oddity.

"Um, so... I was guessing..." he breathed in slowly, then breathed out, "do you want to head over to my house after this?"

"..." She just stared...

... and stared. Aoi then began to turn a very opposite color of her name, almost a darker color then her hair.

"No! Nononono! That's not what I meant!" he shouted, trying to save face before it was too late, realizing what naughty implications that one question could have. "I just meant that I was going to tell my parents that I'd asked you out so we could kinda celebrate it over dinner!" He was nearly just as red as she was, his blush evident and in plain view now.

The blue-eyed beauty suddenly began to relax, as if released from a life-threatening situation.

"O-Oh..." She wasn't sure how to reply. "T-That's great... ha... hahaha..." Aoi just meekly laughed to herself and smiled, trying to lighten up the situation.

_How could this have happened, I wonder._ She thought secretly.

* * *

Unknown to the couple sitting in the ice-cream shoppe, two other people had secretly cooperated to covertly spy on them. One, hid behind a rather thin tree, obvious to everyone that he was trying to hide his presence, however ridiculous and funny it seemed. He was taller than Shin, but definitely more thin by a couple inches. He wasn't as muscular, but had speed and slickness to make up for the strength of his male friend's ferocity. The other, wore dark sunglasses and a cap to disguise her appearance, but the edge of her golden curls poked out from the sides, making it noticeable to whoever had hung out with her or was a rather well-known acquaintance. She, herself, was sipping an Special Edition Chocolate-Fudge Milkshake. It was oh-so-good.

The two 'spies' glanced at each other every now and then, trying to communicate silently on what they could see from each other's angles and positions. Of course, the girl being the closer one, could hear into the couple's conversation and was trying her absolute hardest not to burst out laughing. However, there was a blush evident on her cheeks from the shock of Shin's 'bold' statement. Knowing, that her other 'spy-partner' would get anxious as to what the heck was happening, she casually whipped out her cell phone and began to type on the keys furiously, reporting everything she had heard throughout the five minutes that they had been there.

In the meanwhile, Shin and Aoi had long forgotten the awkward moment and had moved on, talking about memories they had made over the year and how they had come together... which was a romantic and warm feeling for both of them.

For the girl and boy spying on them though, it was getting boring because no new information had popped up. The female had flipped open her cell phone once again, having received a text.

(For those who don't know how to txt or IM, seriously go learn how. I won't go far to teach you this much.)

"Kin! Wth is goin on ovr ther? TELL MEEE!!" The phone displayed the electronic characters on the bright LED screen. She quickly chose the "Reply" option and began to type her own message.

"Shut up! Kazuhiko ur so annoyin. Idk y u r but w8, I need 2 lik listen in for sumthin important" She hit "Send" and looked up to see if the boy had gotten the text. Kin could see his body get rigid and relax as his arm began to shake as she could tell that he was replying to the little dialogue she sent him.

"I must regain my composure lol."

The blonde chuckled and looked up to see her two friends talk like they've never talked before. They really looked excited and into their conversation. She almost envied them... almost.

* * *

"Yeah remember that time when I pushed Kazuhiko into the pool and he cried for his mom? Oh man that was hilarious, I thought I was gonna wet my pants!"

"Hm, I think so," she pondered for a moment, then her sitting stance snapped up, "Yeah! Then I pushed Kin too, and she got all mad because her cell phone broke! And then..."

* * *

Kazuhiko and Kin were rather unhappy at the moment.

* * *

The two were talking vigorously until the Shin stopped talking and raised his finger. Aoi looked puzzled at his concerned face, and his eyes looked into space as if he was trying to listen for something. A drop of sweat rolled down his face, and she began to worry. His calm, bright, and cheerful look had disappeared, and a look of worry and dread took over.

He only had that look when something bad was about to happen... and 'the look' never failed.

* * *

"HQ! HQ! Come in! Argh!" Delta One shouted into the mike, then at the rest of the mission participants behind him, "Contact!" The lot of them quickly dropped to their knees and brought their weapons to bear, quickly firing bursts of accurate and precise shots.

Machine gun fire sounded all around them, and bright, yellow traces of bullets were seen as they zipped past their arms and heads, barely missing them. It was a frightening event. Alpha, Bravo, and Delta had regrouped and was planning the next stage of their plan in front of the warehouse until several men, anywhere from ten to fifteen thugs had made a run for it from a side door, and one of them seemed to be Hans. The group had fired at the SAT until they were about twenty meters away, and the soldiers bolted after them. The chase had gone on for about ten minutes now, and Delta Two, who was watching from above, was getting worried.

The whole motley of armed men was heading for a civilian-filled area.

"Delta One, Alpha One, Bravo One, you're going to have a run-in with civilians. I suggest you somehow lead them away!"

"Can't do that, Delta Two!" the radio buzzed. "They're too far away! What street are we going to run in?"

"It looks like..." Two tried to focus his scope on the any random street sign, "... em... it looks like... I don't know."

"Is it overly crowded?" Delta One frantically breathed into the microphone as he ran hard to catch up to the criminals who were getting away.

"Damn, uh... yeah," Delta Two prepared himself for many civilian casualties. "This could be bad. Shit."

"Ooh really, maybe you should have told us that earlier!" A sarcastic response came in.

Delta Two began to head-shot several thugs, making sure they went down... and stayed that way. He steeled himself as one of his team members went down, but continued to fire until the enemy count went down. With the help of support fire from the chasing teams, the number dwindled, to about to eight... then five... then three... and then one. Hans was still alive.

"Alright guys, I got him," the sniper smirked as he pulled the trigger. _**Click!**_

He pulled on the trigger several times, and pulled his head away from the scope to look at what was wrong. He had forgotten to reload. Delta Two quickly dropped the empty clip and searched his belt for a new one. He couldn't find one. Frantically, he used both hands to search, and then looked around. He didn't drop any, and the clip he had just released was the last case. Quickly, not knowing what else to do, he began to take out individual sniper rounds and started to manually load them into the empty casing as fast as he could. Time was on the run, and he couldn't afford to lose it.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" He cursed aloud. Finally, he had gotten the last bullet in and snapped the clip in place, cocked the bolt back and clicked the safety off. Readjusting his sniper scope as fast as he could, Delta Two quickly searched for Hans.

Many gunshots went off from the crowd's area and screams could be heard.

_Fuck, I was late._

* * *

Shin saw a man run out from an ally with a gun in his hand. At first, the gun looked fake, but his gut instincts told him it was real, loaded and dangerous.

He stared as the man yelled at people to get out of his way and shoot another older man in the leg, and a woman in the abdomen. His stomach revolted at the sight and he had to harden his feelings to not throw up and run away. He wasn't going to run away.

The brown-haired sixteen year-old knew what he was going to do, even if it seemed stupid. He was going to risk his life.

Shin sprinted at the man, in hopes of stopping the thug before he could shoot anymore people.

"Shin!" Aoi shouted, trying to get him to come back. Kin and Kazuhiko were no longer hiding, but trying to aid Aoi in calling Shin back to them.

"Gomen! (Sorry) Wait there! Don't come!" He turned back to the threat and ran, ran towards the enemy. The enemy as his grandfather would say in his stories of good and evil. In the stories of virtues and morals, before he passed away. The tales of righteousness, glory, and protecting all that was important to you and becoming stronger in hopes of achieving that power and fighting instinct to engage within the trials and tribulations that would await him in the future.

This was the time. The time that Shin would take his grandfather's words to heart.

"Aaaaaaahhh!!" His yellow eyes were full of fury, full of desire to protect his friends behind him and the people around him. His hands grabbed at the mans wrists and the gun fired into the empty sky, harmful to no one. He struggled as people took this as a chance to run, no one stopping to help or aid him in his struggle with the armed lunatic firing shots into the air. Suddenly, he lost his footing as the larger man took his right foot out from under him and pushed him to the ground. Shin could see the gun slowly, very slowly coming down to be aimed at him, and he would lose his life right then.

"I'm gonna die," he plainly said, knowing that it was then the end. The end of his short life of sixteen years. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

"Not yet!" a familiar girl's voice shouted, and Shin heard the man grunt as he presumably fell to the ground. The young adult male then felt gentle, kind arms lift him up from the ground, trying to pull him up and away from the scene. He opened his eyes and gasped. _Aoi-chan!_

He was up and about to run away with her until he saw out of the corner of his eye, the man had his gun pointed in their direction. Shin amazingly guessed the trajectory of the projectile quickly, and it was aimed for...

"No!" He quickly moved.

Aoi turned and had blood sprayed in her face.


	3. ACT 01: GWS CH02

Alright pplz, here's Chapter 2 (Haha double upload in my first official Bleach fanfic! How's that?) Don't forget those reviews now, you hear?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

Note: Just so you guys know, there is a little bit of ecchi in this chapter here.

Oh and to let people know, I don't really know anything about the military... honestly. I just make up stuff to sound cool and believable according to the imagination. lolz

* * *

Chapter 2

_He was up and about to run away with her until he saw out of the corner of his eye, the man had his gun pointed in their direction. Shin amazingly guessed the trajectory of the projectile quickly, and it was aimed for..._

_"No!" He quickly moved._

_Aoi turned and had blood sprayed in her face._

* * *

"Shit!" Delta Two cried aloud. He saw has the man emptied his clip into a young brown-haired teen's chest from the ground, as a shocked girl behind him began to freeze at her, as he guessed, boyfriend's blood all over her face. "Open Comm! HQ! This is Delta Two! Over!"

"What is it?" Alpha One came on.

"Damn! We have a civilian casualty!" He was now sweating profusely as the boy dropped to his left knee, staying in that prone position. There was no way the boy was alive after having five pistol, presumably magnum, rounds fired into his guts from point blank range. As expected, the boy's figure then fully fell to the ground.

"Ah shit!"

"Delta Two, this is HQ, we are sending in paramedics and backup."

"You're sending in backup now!?" Delta Two cried, "What good will it do now!? Fuck!"

"Delta Two, remain calm. Take out the target."

"Calm!? Calm!? I'll show you calm!" Delta Two took his sniper rifle and emptied it into Hans from the rooftop... without looking into the scope.

He breathed heavily. It was the first time that he had seen someone non-military personnel die in combat. It was all his fault, just because he had forgotten to take notice of his ammunition. It was his responsibility...

* * *

Kurosaki Shin lay face down in his own puddle of blood. His entire life flashed before him in waves, slowly coming onto him like a slow movie. Clips of his life here and there, chronologically came into order, his eyes viewing the moments of the earliest times he could remember.

First, was when he was a toddler, and his mother before him, kissing the scrape on his knee, while his father picked up the bike out from concrete road... both of them telling each other it was okay, and he would be all right.

Next, was when he had entered elementary school for the first time as a kindergarten student and how he had made his first friend... Aoi.

She had seen him alone, by himself, because the kids thought the natural color of his hair was weird and abnormal, but she had thought it to be very 'cool' and fun to look at. He smiled at that memory.

Thirdly, he remembered his grandfather, Ichigo-jii (old man), tell him amazing stories of death gods and how they fought of villainous hollow to protect souls of the Earth and guide them to a peaceful place called Soul Society.

After that, Shin saw when he himself had entered middle school, and the other kids had made of Aoi for being a 'pretty girl' and too nice for anything. He had grabbed her hand when no one would sit next to her, and guide her to the roof. They would hang out and talk things out, giving her a way to 'vent.' He liked spending time with the girl he loved.

Finally, was today. When he had asked her out for a real date, not just "chilling out" at the park.

He had gathered up his feelings and steeled himself, hoping to not make their relationship awkward. They were best friends, and he didn't want to ruin it for her.

He could remember exactly went up to her and her group of friends that morning before class started and asked,

_"Hey, Aoi-chan, can I talk to you for a minute?"_

_"Um, yeah," she had seemed puzzled by the eager look on his face. "What is it?"_

_"Er, I kinda wanted to ask you in private." he scratched the back of his head and let out a meek little laugh._

_"O-ok," she turned around to her friends. She had so many of them now... "I'll be back in a minute."_

_He grabbed her hand, and led her to the stairs. Walking up, he thought of the times they had been together since almost all of their lives, and he wanted to be with her. He wanted to hold her, keep her so bad, and let no one else have her. He thought of the times they argued, the times they laughed, and even the times they simply sat there bored studying for finals. They kept going up the stairs, him leading her up and up until they came to the door. Pushing it open, Shin pulled Aoi into the rooftop area, and to the fence where they could see the entire school grounds from that one standing point._

_"Ano... what was it that you wanted to ask me?" She looked up at him with those deep, blue eyes that he could just let his mind wander around in for eternity._

_"Uh, well..." he gulped, "you see... uh..."_

_"Hm?" She was now staring at him intently for a reply, and he was beginning to choke. Shin began to think he should bail out, but that was cowardice and he wouldn't let it go that way._

_"Iwaswonderingifyouwouldgooutwithme," he said in one breath. He mentally smacked himself. He had sounded like such an idiot!_

_"Yes." A slight blush was evident on her cheeks._

_"It's okay, I under- wait, what?" his eyes snapped open._

_He was stunned. The girl of his dreams and best friend had just agreed to go out with him... Kurosaki Shin, the guy who everyone was scared of. The guy who got into a lot of fights because people picked on him for his ideals. The guy who was mediocre in class, and liked to daydream while staring out the window. She had said yes to him. Aoi-chan had said yes!_

_"YES!" He shouted at the top of his lungs to the world. "Well, uh, you know..." he was embarrassed at his odd, yet joyful behavior._

_She simply smiled and stared at him._

_"Er... yeah... you know..." he began to slightly sweat from nervousness, "you don't have to do this if you don't wan-mmph!"_

_He once again snapped at attention to the cool hands on his face... and the warm sensation that invaded his lips. She... Aoi was kissing him!_

_Shin slowly relaxed and put his arms around her waist, kissing back. He was enjoying every moment of it just as she was, and her hands began to slide to his chest, and his right hand, gently, began to slid to her rear. She jumped a little at the playful antic, but had a little trick up her own sleeve. He wasn't going to have all the fun to himself. Aoi licked his lip and Shin gasped, allowing her to quickly enter her tongue into his mouth. Twirling around her tongue, they both fought for dominance. Shin was able to win her over, and she let out a little moan._

_Then the door opened._

_"Aoi, class is going to star-" Harumi, a friend both of them had made over the school year, had come up, her hand now covering her mouth. Before Shin or Aoi could react, she ran down the stairs leaving the door open with a very red face._

And that was that.

Shin could practically die the happiest man on Earth. He had grown up with a girl he loved, confessed his feelings for her, kissed her passionately, and went out on a date with her. But he had one regret.

It was leaving Aoi.

He regret having to die and leave her all alone... alone when she had been able to admit him as the love of her life. Shin was sad at that. But he had done his part protecting her, showing her that he cared, to the point of risking and sacrificing his own life. It would be over, and he would go on to the so-called 'afterlife'. Where was this 'afterlife'? He didn't know. All he knew was some stories of old that his grandfather told him and that was it.

_Is Soul Society real?_ he wondered. _Are Shinigami and Hollow real?_ If so, he didn't want to run into one of those damned beasts. They sounded scary.

He did, however, want to meet a Shinigami... and even become one if he could. A badass Shinigami. He mentally smirked at the thought.

Shin's body felt heavy, his breathing was slowing, and his eyesight began to haze. _Damn, I'm losing it._ He struggled for a little then decided to give up and let go. He was going to truly die this time. No one was going to save him. No one would pull him back to the real world, for he could already feel his essence, his very being being lifted from his physical body... strangely familiar to how his grandfather had described it. It was like being pushed out of the body, kind of forcefully, but leaving the consciousness to roam free in the air.

He looked around in his 'soul form', gazing out around him.

Then he saw it. Shin saw the entire scene before him: his dead body, the blood, the bullet shells, everything. More importantly, he saw Aoi. She was kneeling over his body, weeping. She was weeping for him. His face frowned at that; he didn't want to see her cry, not at all. But it couldn't be helped. He looked to his right and saw his two friends, Kazuhiko and Kin, also crying. Kin was trying to comfort Aoi, but she herself was also too upset to really do anything. Kazuhiko... he just stood there, fists clenched and tears streaming down his face with a face of desperation and despair. Shin was kind of upset that his death would make so many upset, but he did what he did, and his life was over. Turning around to leave, he bumped into something. Something like black cloth.

"What the? Who's there?" Of course, no living being could hear him, but he said it anyway. Then he stood back a bit and looked carefully.

A man. A man with orange hair... clothed in a black battle-kimono.

And a huge-ass sword on his back.

"What the hell?" Shin asked himself out loud. "Who the heck are you?"

The orange-haired man looked to be a slightly older than him, and only a little big taller. However, the aura and look of demeanor that he gave off was incredible, and Shin could only stare in awe.

Now that he thought about it, Shin could remember seeing someone like this long ago. The face was familiar, and that confused him a bit. He had definitely seen that orange hair and classy smile somewhere... he tried hard to remember where in the world he had seen it.

_Oh yeah, a picture... now who was in that picture... let's see._

"Yo, Shin. I'm your grandfather," he spoke. The guy just stood there showing off the same huge smile, and scratching the back of his head.

"... **What!?**"

* * *

"K-Kin-chan..." Aoi choked out, barely able to speak.

"W-what is it?" She also had tears running down her face, nearly suffocating from the shock of witnessing her close friend's death, and her best friend's despair.

"W-why..." The pink-haired girl whispered, "Why did this happen? Whyyy!?" She screamed into the sky with all her might before collapsing onto the ground from utter feeling of hopelessness and loss. She couldn't handle the feeling that the world had forsaken her... that Kami himself had laid deaf ears on her utterly helpless cries for help and longing for her love, who's body now lay in the blood. Aoi lay there, continuing to cry, shedding the tears like a river flowing down, not stopping for anything.

Kin saw her friend fall to the ground, she also felt the intense wave of pain come in, crashing into her like she'd never felt emotional pain before. The disastrous feeling of agony and fear, as if a piece of her soul had been torn away. She had known people who had died, but not like this... not like this. Kin had never actually _seen_ someone die so bluntly and gruesomely in that fashion before. Only in scary movies. Now the scary film was her reality.

Kazuhiko himself had seen death before. He'd watch as a little child on vacation, when a horseback rider was riding his stallion and having the animal jump over hurdles. It looked cool... until the idiot got too proud and he fell off the saddle and broke his neck. It had been a quick death, practically painless... however, Shin's death wasn't anything like that. He tried to imagine a bullet travel into his guts, then have several more come in a few seconds later... he couldn't. Kazuhiko cried tears of regret and compassion... then suddenly threw up his lunch all over the ground.

* * *

"Damn, maybe you should turn around and look," the orange-haired death god told him.

Shin spun around to see Aoi scream into the air, then collapse onto the hard concrete road.

"Aoi!" He reached out to grab her, but his wrist was held back by the black-clothed warrior.

"Don't, not yet," his 'self-claimed' grandfather had stated with a hardened face, "You can't yet."

"And why not!?" Shin let his anger take over. He just 'died' and wanted to hug his beloved before leaving to the 'afterlife'. "I just want to let her know one... one last time..." his words drifted off into nothingness. "One last time. I just want to hold her tight, and never let go."

Ichigo sighed. He knew what it was like to be in love.

Oh how he had fallen in love with Orihime and went to the depths of Hueco Mundo to rescue her from Aizen's clutches and the Espada's fortress. It had been a near-futile attempt, and he had almost lost his life several times, but he did it. And after the whole 'war' was over, he managed to profess his love for her clearly. When he did it has as if a new door to a whole new life of happiness had been unlocked, opened for him to witness and experience. Now his grandson was facing the same trial. That was amusing.

"You know I can't let you do that. Your body's pretty much dead now, and you can't go back in it once you've died..." Ichigo stated his argument... to a point.

"What about gigai?" Shin suddenly asked, an eager look on his face.

"Huh?" Ichigo felt a drastic change in the atmosphere. _Since when did the kid know about gigai?_

"Remember? You told me those stories about souls and stuff when I was little. You must be a Shinigami, right? So that makes me... a wandering soul. And souls and the like can go into artificial bodies right?" Shin had a look on his face of hope.

Ichigo stared. _He remembers all that? Geez, and I thought telling stories was for passing the time. I hope he hasn't forgotten the virtue and fighting part._

"Er, to an extent," once again, Ichigo didn't want to get the boy to raise his hopes. "By the way... I have a question."

"Uh, yeah?" The sixteen year-old teen looked up at his grandfather. "What?"

"Why in the world..." the Shinigami's eyebrow began to twitch, "Why in the world did you run out there and risk your life!?"

"Huh?" Shin began to resemble his grandfather's actions, slightly. "You're the one who filled my head with stories of glory and 'protecting the ones you love' crap! I just acted on instinct!"

"And that's supposed to help you!? What are you gonna do now?" Ichigo sighed again, this time deeper in correspondence to his annoyance.

Shin stared, a 'sweat-drop' rolling down the side of his face. "Eh... I don't know."

"Well now you're dead!" the death-god scratched his head again.

They both just stared at each other with a dumb look on their faces, honestly not knowing what to make of the situation.

* * *

Something was 'fishy'.

Ichigo and Shin had been tracking the ambulance for quite a while, and they found that it was going nowhere. After the military personnel showed up to clean up the scene, three ambulances had arrived to take away the casualties and the wounded. One for the man who was shot in the leg, another for the woman who was shot in the midsection, and the other... for Shin's dead body. The hospital staff of the third ambulance had denied non-family members, as usual, but had taken a different route than the other vehicles. It had taken a right turn at one intersection, and didn't bother to make a u-turn to go back or make any movement towards the hospital. It just kept going on its own little drive towards wherever the driver decided to go. It was odd.

The dead teenager suddenly panicked, worried that it might be organ dealers trying to make use of his body parts now that he had died. But they were no longer within downtown Tokyo. They weren't even in the Kanto region anymore. The bulky hospital automobile was heading for the docks.

"What the hell?" Shin wondered aloud. "Ergh. Hey, 'G', could you pleeeaaase not hold so tight.?"

"G?" Ichigo's brow began the same old twitch. "What in the world is that?"

"You know... 'G'... for Gramps... heheh." Shin was in a position of being carried by his grandfather by the midsection during the process of midair-walking... in other words, the Shinigami's Shunpo. "Ugh!?"

Ichigo squeezed the boy's stomach harder.

"Eh!? What was that!?" The death god made another attempt to squeeze more vigorously, "I couldn't hear you with all the wind! Hurgh!" _**Crack!**_

"Aah! My back! _My back!_ You broke something! Have mercy!" Shin flailed his arms around, his face comical with actions to boot.

* * *

"Alright," a man in a hospital nurse's uniform stepped down from the passenger seat of the ambulance, walking up to a group of men waiting on the dock.

"You got a body?" The man in charge of the group waiting wore the same thing as everyone next to him: a black suit and a tie.

"Yeah, its fresh... only like thirty minutes into legal death, body's still functional to an extent," the male 'nurse' sighed. "You guys better put him into cryogenic stasis soon, or he's gonna be just a rotting hunk of meat."

"Here's the money as we discussed," the man handed over a black suitcase, while motioning one of his fellow men to grab 'the body'.

The man opened it and found packs of ¥153,735,000 (about 1,500,00). Having confirmed the money, he closed the suitcase and threw it at the driver who was still inside, waiting to go. He then stepped in, closed the door, and the two drove off to probably spend the money on some other dealings.

As the other men assembled into small speedboat, the first man took out a cell phone and began to punch in some numbers. It rang, and he waited for the 'other side' to pick up. It connected, and the other person replied.

"Hello?" An older males voice was heard through the static of wireless calling overseas.

"Sir, we have the body."

"Oh? Bring it as quickly as you can, on schedule. Don't fail to bring it in before then."

"Order confirmed. Executing." The man stepped onto the boat, and it left into the dark horizon.

On the side of the boat, one could barely see: USBT, and underneath in smaller letters, United States Biological Technologies.

* * *

"Where are they taking my body!? What the hell is going on?" Shin was practically screaming into his grandfather's face.

"Geez, shut up! I don't know," Ichigo rubbed his ear. They were standing upon the dock, watching as the whole dealing took place. It didn't seem like an organ dealing, but it did look illegal. And he was just as eager to find out as Shin was. He scanned the horizon for the speedboat, and saw a little white speck in the distance. He didn't want to lose it.

"Come on, we're going," Ichigo stated.

"Wha-? Woah!" Shin cried out as the Shinigami suddenly grabbed him and made a jump to the skies.

* * *

"This is U.S.S. Abram, calling in to Echo One. Do you respond?"

The man from the dock earlier picked up the radio transmitter and decided to reply.

"This is E-One, Abram we read you loud and clear."

"Please provide your IFF," the voice on the other end of the radio ordered.

"IFF: Echo-Nine-Eight-Oscar-Three-Seven-Foxtrot-Zulu. (E98OT7FZ)"

"Checking... confirmed. You are allowed to proceed."

The man nodded his head to let the pilot know that it was safe to enter the ship's proximity."

* * *

"Gentlemen..." an old man, wearing a scientist's white overcoat, began to speak to the men before him.

"You are aware..." he paused, thinking to choose his words carefully. "... that you have succeeded in eliminating Hans, the leader of the Black Hand.

As you know, this is an American ship, and you are Japanese soldiers. You are probably wondering 'why in the world was I sent here?' and I can tell you the reason. But first, let me tell you. As a result of your... work today in the field, a civilian casualty had occurred. He was shot several times in the torso by several 9mm rounds, effectively rupturing some of his lungs, and maybe part of his heart, a little bit of his kidneys here and there..."

He let it sink in. The soldiers looked rather guilty... especially the far one on the left.

"So... on my orders, I have had the body brought here for the beginning of a plan that you will all partake in..."

The SAT members began to look confused and began to whisper amongst themselves. A stretcher on wheels with a blanket covering a figure was rolled next the old man, and he put his hand upon the edge of it.

This was going to be a part of his dream. He had waited all his life for the government to approve his plans of being able to experiment on the human body, but they never came. After years of petitioning, he had nearly lost his position until the army had proclaimed its need for better and more efficient soldiers on the battlefield. It was then that the Head of Biological Technology came to talk to him personally on the subject of experimenting on those who had already deceased. However, that would never work, but he had agreed anyway. Now he technically had a liable test subject. One who was legally dead, but kind of wasn't. Where the conscious, or the mind, had shut down, and the body was still alive could serve as the perfect test subject.

"I bring you today...

...the body of a sixteen year old boy...

... who died today at roughly 20:15 (8:15 PM) today."

The soldiers were now more uncomfortable then ever, anxious of the moment to come.

"The beginning of my 'Kenseigan' (Analysis-Eye) Plan...

... with the body of Kurosaki Shin, who's heart _still beats._"

With that, the doctor tore off the blanket, revealing Shin's face for all to see.

* * *

A/N: I kinda had trouble writing the end of this chapter, but still. Two chapters in two days in a row? With a prologue to boot. You all should send me reviews for my hard work.

Looking forward to hearing from all who read this fanfic!


	4. ACT 01: GWS CH03

Ok, this is Chapter 3 with explanations of the operationz. Enjoy! (AND SEND IN REVIEWS)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

He couldn't believe it.

His body was going to be used for some experiment for a foreign country... unbelievable. Plus, it was still _alive._ How? He didn't know. All that he knew was that his former body was now alive and that would mean he probably had some chance to return to the world of the living. The question at the moment was how would he get back into it? Did he just lie down into it like they draw in the manga? Or is there some kind of ritual involved? Was there some kind of process? There must have been something that he could do to get back into it.

Shin was 'sweating'. He wanted to ask so many questions, but was too captivated by the sight before him.

The doctors were in a closed room, setting up tubes and machines here and there, checking the stats and vitals. Then they would quickly change the amount of solution from the IV drip, then inject some strange substance into 'his arm' every now and then... only to go check everything all over again. It was a never ending process of inject and check, inject and check... He was starting to get sick of it. With all this experimentation going on, would he really have a chance to return to his body?

"Yo, Shin," the voice next to him called for his attention.

"Eh?" the young soul turned his head slowly to the voice.

"I want to know," the death god next to him spoke, "When you died..."

"When I died?" Shin nervously repeated in confusion.

"Did it feel like..." Ichigo paused for a moment, " Did it feel like you were forcefully pushed out or gently lifted?"

"W-what does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer," the Shinigami seemed to be eager to know the answer.

Shin had no idea as to where the question was going, but assumed that if his grandfather asked it, it must have had some significant importance. He thought... hard. When he had died... he had felt an odd sensation of letting go all attachment to his body, as if being 'gently lifted' as his grandfather had suggested...

But at the very end, he was violently forced out, like a torrent of pressure blasting him out from his physical body.

"E-eh... I can't really say. At first... it felt as if I was peacefully leaving the body behind as my soul was being lifted from the ground... but then..."

"But then what?" Ichigo was now looking at him with full attention.

"... t-then I felt like a tornado hit me and my soul got pushed out... kind of painfully." Shin looked for some kind of message or answer within his grandfather's eyes. He didn't find anything.

Ichigo began to come up with various causes as a result of the possibilities within the event of Shin's death. He came up with one plausible answer. It was the moment before his grandson's soul had left the body, it was his involvement that may have caused everything.

"Shin, I'm going to make a Shinigami out of you."

"What?" Shin stared at his grandfather in disbelief. He was receiving the chance to become a Shinigami so soon? Unbelievable. He had thought that there would be some ritual or the something of the like.

"That's right," Ichigo just stared with bored eyes, "I'm going to make sure you turn into a Shinigami. Now lets go." The orange-haired death god turned to leave the room.

"W-wait! What about my body?" Shin cried out. He didn't want to leave his flesh and blood behind in the hands of some crazy experimentalists.

"We'll come back for it when you're done. I need to take you to see someone who can help."

"Who's that?" the teen asked curiously.

"You'll find out," Ichigo smirked as he thought of the tough road ahead.

* * *

"Hey, gramps," Shin called for Ichigo's attention.

"Just call me Ichigo, it's getting annoying."

"A-alright. Hey Ichigo," the boy hesitated for a bit, but decided to ask anyway, "why did you have me answer that question?"

Ichigo knew the answer. He was absolutely sure of it the more he thought about it. There was no other explanation. He was there at the time of Shin's death... before actually. He was watching over the boy, watching everything from the beginning of his confession to the bullets. In his panic, just as his grandson was dying, he took out the glove. Yes, the fingerless red glove and with a blue-flamed skull on the back-handed side. The glove that forcefully removed the soul, leaving the physical body in a comatose-like state. At that point, the body would go into a state of suspended animation, putting aside the need for food or oxygen.

However, there had been a snag. A snag as in... a miscalculation. Ichigo had hoped to expel Shin's soul from the body before he died, but the Shinigami had reached it when it was already in the process of 'death'. As a result of the mistake on the death god's part, the soul was cut off from the body completely, lacking a chain, and the energy doubled back into the body, causing that state of suspended animation, but allowing the functions for life to continue with the sustained damages. In theory it was possible, but in reality it was supposed extremely improbable. To think that it actually had happened, Ichigo didn't know what to make of the situation.

"Eh well, uh... you see," Ichigo tried to avoid telling the answer, "I'll just tell you some other time." He didn't want to confuse Shin now. The boy would have to wait until later.

How would he explain this to Soul Society? He wouldn't. In order to protect his grandson, who was now a new type of soul without a visible chain link, he would have to hide the details from other members of the council.

Nothing too big for someone as an active captain to handle, right?

* * *

"We're here," Ichigo told the sixteen year-old.

"Hn," he replied soberly. "What's this?" Shin looked around in front of the small traditional Japanese-style convenience store. "It looks kinda boring."

"Shush," Ichigo tried to keep the boy quiet. "You'll find out soon enough... Urahara-san! Oi! (Oi; hey)"

Shin stared blankly at his grandfather. What the hell was he doing shouting in the middle of the night? Plus, weren't they souls? Who the heck would hear them if they were spiritual beings? _Maybe we're like ghosts and people can hear our creepy wails in the night..._ the adolescent-soul pondered. _Naah._

"Who's there?" a gruff, voice called out from the front of the store. A huge, muscular man with a gigantic mustache stood at the door. He barely fit through the top.

"Woah!" Shin jumped back, surprised, "Y-you heard us?... You can _see_ us!?" The boy was actually shocked. A human being, still alive and kicking, could hear and see them. He had no idea what the heck was going on. He wanted answers... badly.

"Of course I can see you!" the large man said in a booming voice. "You're going to wake up the manager! Shh!"

"Sorry..." he lowered his voice, "So who are you... and the manger?"

"Ichigo-dono, who is this Plus?" The large man asked, totally ignoring Shin.

"Huh? What's a 'Plus'?" Shin looked offended; it sounded like name-calling.

"A Plus is a good soul that has not turned into a Hollow," Ichigo scratched his head, smiling, "Good thing you didn't become one of them. I would have had to kill you. Heheh."

"Eh!?" Shin backed away.

"Just kidding. Anyway," the Shingami now turned to the large man who was patiently waiting for an answer, "Tessai-san, this is my grandson, Shin. He kind of um... you know... died protecting his girlfriend.

The teenager blushed at that.

"Please forgive me for treating your grandson in such a manner! I will go wake the manager."

"If you will, please."

Tessai quickly closed the door and ran into the depths of the shop to the manager's room door to wake up the slumbering store-owner.

* * *

"So let me get this straight..." Urahara started, trying not to fall asleep or be annoyed by the situation. "You woke me up at _one-thirty_ in the morning to tell me that you want me to help you make your grandson into a _Shingami_ after he died in some _freak accident_ involving a horrible military operation gone haywire before his body was _abducted_ by a United States biological scientific technological department to _experiment_ on his_ zombie-body_ to make it into an ultimate weapon in a process called the _Kensei-gan Plan_ and now you want me to accomplish this before something _terrible_ happens to it!? Hooo-- ha... ha... ha..." That was the longest run-on sentence that Urahara Kisuke had ever said in his entire life. He had to stop and take a breather.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ichigo just stared annoyed. He was getting to get a little irked at the man's comical behavior. "I need to have you teach him how to at least get to be a Vizard while I'm checking on his body. How that's gonna happen, I don't know. He doesn't even have a chainlink in the first place."

"Huh? Vizard?" Shin raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term. "What's that?"

"Don't worry about it," Urahara interjected before more questions could be fired off, "Let's just focus on getting you to be a powerful Shinigami... follow me."

"Eh?" Shin turned to ask his grandfather for advice, but Ichigo was already halfway out the door, and closing it behind him. "Heh?" He turned to the manager who had gone around a corner into a long hallway, followed by his assistant Tessai. Not wanting to be left behind... or alone, Shin quickly rose to his feet and ran after them.

At the third door to the right, Urahara-san stopped and opened the door to get inside the room. Once inside, he precisely walked to the large tile-mat that was in column three, row two. The manager tapped it with his cane, and the floor quickly fell open, revealing a dark area with a ladder leading down to what seemed like an eternity. He then motioned the boy to come closer to the edge to look down with him. Without notice, he appeared to pat the male teen on the back, only to give a slight push.

"Aah.. Aah, I'm gonna fall!" Shin was balancing on the tip of his toes, trying to lean back. Urahara then gave a giggle and pushed with his index finger. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" The poor Plus's cries could be heard all the way down.

* * *

"Ha... Hah! I almost died!" Shin was grabbing his chest with a bewildered look on his face while breathing heavily as if attacked by a ferocious monster. "Y-you trying to _kill_ me!?" The male soul had a very accusing look on now.

"Of course not!" the store-owner said in a sing-song voice, obvious he was pretending to be offended, "What would happen if Ichigo's grandkid suddenly died within my responsibility! I'd be a dead man! Teehee!"

"Auh..." Shin's mouth just dropped, not believing the stupidity of the whole situation.

"Anyway..." the manager put on a serious face, startling the teenager. "Tessai, get Jinta and Ururuu down here. I'm going to need them."

"Who?"

"Forget about it for a while right now, we need to think about your current situation," Urahara's voice was filled with concern and worry. For a man who seemed so lighthearted, this seemed a little drastic.

"My... situation?" Shin had heard everything that his grandfather said, and figured this 'chain link' thing had something to do with it. From what he could put together, he couldn't really become a Shinigami without having one. _Well this blows._ "So I can't become a Shinigami, huh?"

"Not necessarily. The natural process is, a Plus gets sent to Soul Society by a Shinigami. Then he or she is chosen to be sent to the Academy if they show any promising signs of being able to use spiritual energy. For example," The manager held out his open hand, palm up. His brows furrowed, and he cried out, "Ha!"

Suddenly, the space around his palm became warped and glowed a brilliant shade of blue, almost white.

"This... is reiatsu, the essence of spiritual energy that a death god uses. One with high levels of reiatsu are able to see other spirits, and probably become Shinigami. You, are dead, and have shown no signs of being able to use any spiritual energy whatsoever... and you have no chain link. So this really sucks for you."

"..."

"Don't worry about!" The silly store-owner gave a pat on the sixteen year-old's back. "I'll find a way! Hahahaha!"

Shin didn't find that to be very promising.

* * *

"Is the Q-Gen complete?" a familiar old man's voice asked.

"Almost sir. The Beta OS is almost done, and then it needs to be revised for the final version."

"What of the cybernetic optics? Are they done?"

"The synchronization-rate between the CO and the Quantum Generator are off by one percent... a little too slow for advanced performance or any combat for that matter. Like you've stated in the documents, it needs to be perfect or else the system won't work to its maximum capabilities."

"Hmm, well then... go check on the body, make sure it is ready for final operations."

"Yes sir."

He... was Dr. Archibald, a leading scientist of the underground, hired to invent or improve weapons for the military 'under the table'. It had been his dream to create the ultimate biological weapon, whether it be a virus, cyborg, missile, etc. Now, he was working on an opportunity that involved all three of those. His order from the higher-ups was to create cyborg that could make an impact on armed combat as that of a nuclear missile... without the utter killing of innocents. So, the Doctor came up with a brilliant plan.

In acceptance of the assignment, he began to study a way to alter a live human body without too much risk, or creating some kind of insane monster. He did find a way. It was a virus, the so-called, "organisms at the edge of life."

A virus, in every way, is very complicated. There are over hundreds of different types of viruses. Many famous ones include influenza, with over several different strains and over 50 million deaths. Another is the Ebola Virus which has a fatality rate anywhere from 50 to 90, with a Biosafety Level 4 and Category A Bioterrorism classification status. HIV Type 1, is a condition that currently infects people on a global scale, with over 90 million in Africa alone, and ensuring the coming of AIDS, which will kill the infected within a matter of time. Then comes the Smallpox, killing over 300 to 500 million people within the twentieth century alone, considered so dangerous it was wiped off the face of the planet other than the few samples left behind for vaccination purposes.

Even then, there are many bacteria-related illnesses to accompany these other diseases and viruses. How can the human body fend off such terrors?

By learning.

Dr. Archibald struggled to design and write the computer program for detecting and studying the vapid behavior and effects of all known viruses. In his research, he came to a conclusion was that the same way the body learns to fend off a cold or the chickenpox after the first time, the body can learn to combat deadly viruses if it survived. In order to do so, he had to create something just as deadly, and just as formidable as a virus. So what was as effective and adaptable as a dangerous, fatal piece of viral DNA that modified and copied itself over and over to escape the clutches of the immune system?

Another virus.

The Doctor figured he would spend his time studying viruses, and create a virus to fight a virus... ironic.

But this virus would be a bit different. Instead of killing off the original strands of genetic material inside of the already existing cell, the virus that the Doctor planned to create would modify the original itself, thus making it just as effective and immune to other viruses. Of course, this was proven to be nearly fatal in the past, but bioengineering nowadays had proven that one could 'cut and paste' genes within the nucleus of plants and various types of fish.

The genius doctor was already in the process of adding to a base-virus. His plan was to guarantee immunity to any biological weapon available... or created in the future.

The soldier needed to have endurance, speed, strength, agility. The strategist needed a sharp and fast-thinking mind. A bioweapon needed to be immune to other biological threats and poisons around. A product of bioengineering needed to last enough to be used to its full potential. A cyborg... needed to be all those things.

As such, this virus would increase the chances for all those things. And Dr. Archibald had all plans ready to go.

The last thing remaining was after the virus had been implanted and taken effect, was the synchronization between man and machine.

Dr. Archibald and his team of scientists had worked to create a quantum-generator, called Q-Gen for short, a brain-sized computer with capabilities like the world has never seen. It had used revolutionary memory technology based on the brain, with more processing power than the actual brain itself. It was created to operate at normal body temperature, so that nothing would be out of the ordinary. The plan was to replace the brain with the Q-Gen, and implement an Operating System to accompany the hardware. The most catchy feature was the wireless capabilities built in to connect to the Internet or phone lines.

Then came the Kenseigan. The doc found interesting points in his work to name it, the Analysis Eye. The Eye that would supply a visual HUD for the user, and constantly analyze or record events into memory for the OS to learn. The problem was the AE and QG weren't synchronizing perfectly.

He needed a hundred percent or he would feel uncomfortable risking a mistake in the process. However, if he didn't produce a cyborg soldier by the deadline as promised... well... he just needed to hurry.

The OS would be preprogrammed with over a hundred different biological languages, with several dialects; several different types of code language; and several methods to creating Internet hacking viruses, and methods to defend against hackers trying to get into the quantum generator. Of course, that wasn't happening.

The system would also be preloaded with all documented forms of martial arts, skills, military maneuvers, strategies, and almost everything needed for anything. And the OS would allow itself to continue learning.

This soldier, would be the most flexible soldier suited for any assignment or any mission.

And the Doctor would have the credit for producing such a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction).

* * *

The needle was in.

"Injecting," A man in a yellow bio-suit held a needle, pressing down on it to make sure the solution went into the subjects arm. He watched carefully as the clear fluid was drained from the syringe, all the way into the veins of the body of Kurosaki Shin.

"Ok, Dr. Borvinski, please step away from the subject," a radio in his ear told him.

"Alright..." he was very eager to see the results. He waited patiently.

Nothing happened.

"Um, Dr. Archibald, nothing is happening..." He was confused. The solution was to take affect within five minutes, yet nothing was happening. The vitals had not changed at all.

Forty-eight hours ago, the team of doctors had successfully 'installed' the Q-Gen and the Kenseigan loaded with the KS-OS into the subject's body. Of course, the eyes and shaved head were covered in bandages, but the most vital piece was the virus that Dr. Borvinski had just injected into the 'living corpse'. Despite their efforts, nothing changed... other than the slight smoky vapor that was arising from the subjects head... or the odd change in muscle mass... or the fact that the body's heart rate had increased.

"Oh shit. Doctor! I think something is happening!" He quickly took a hold of the situation as orders were shouted into his ear from the radio.

Then just as fast as the changes occurred, the changes had stopped. It was complete.

"Uh, Doctor..."

"Remove the bandages," Archibald's voice came in.

Immediately, Borvinski carefully grabbed the edges of the bandages and began to peel them off. He gasped.

All the stitches had fallen off, and any evidence of wounds or open flesh had disappeared. It was as if the operation had never taken place... only the baldness. The doctor within the room laughed.

"It was a success! Ha ha ha!"

Then a lightning-fast hand came up and grabbed his arm with such a force that it shattered his entire limb... he screamed.

* * *

A/N: How was that? Betcha that one had you guys thinking. Send reviews! I need them!

Anyway, more about the actual features of the Kenseigan will be revealed in the next and/or following chapters to come.


	5. ACT 01: GWS CH04

This chapter is a chapter that contains a bit of story that you all may have been anticipating. Have fun, and don't forget those reviews.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_Then a lightning-fast hand came up and grabbed his arm with such a force that it shattered his entire limb... he screamed._

* * *

Forty-eight hours ago, during the time in which the team of specialists were performing and operation on Shin's body, the actual Shin was meditating in the middle of the large, underground training room... or facility. The place was too large to be called a 'room'. So within his mind, Shin labeled it as a facility. How there was such a gigantic place under a little store, he didn't know.

Currently, he was focusing on drawing out that special spiritual energy Urahara-san called reiatsu, the essence of a Shinigami's powers. Once again, he really didn't know. The manager blatantly told him that he should just sit down and meditate, so that's exactly what he did: sit down and meditate. This didn't work either. Then the store-owner just left him there and went up the ladder!

So he searched within the deep recesses of his mind... and discovered... that it was quite dark... Very dark. Slowly, the muscles on his face relaxed, and his body slowly released its hold on its current position. His arms slowly drifted to the sides, his hands hitting the floor. His back slumped, and his head began to fall forward. Then as clear as the sound of water dripping within a silent cave, he heard it... a voice.

"Kozou (Boy)..." The voice was deep, but sounding full of wisdom and age.

"Who's there?" he was confused. Looking around, the boy found that no one was there.

"I... find your entire situation... amusing... hmm ha hah"

"What's so funny about it!?" the poor soul was starting to get angry at the voice; it was frustrating when you were talking to someone you couldn't actually see.

"I have been sealed away on for ages, and now... I have been set free by my own power. To think that you would be the first soul for myself to have _truly_ laid eyes on after my release."

"So what's so special about that? I'm just a poor Plus that can't become a Shinigami," Shin huffed and crossed his arms.

The voice remained quiet for a while.

"Did you say Shinigami? As in a '_death god_'?" The voice actually sounded startled and surprised.

"Yeah, my granddad's one. He's one of the greatest one's there are, as far as I can tell from the stories he tells me...

... and he wears this white sash with black diamonds on it, it looks friggin' awesome! I want something like that. I'd be a bad ass Shinigami!"

The voice was silent yet again.

"Hm Hm Hm," the voice sounded like it was trying to hold back a laughter, but failed, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"What?" the teen was annoyed at the laughter, pretty much aimed at him.

"The predicament you are in is absolutely amusing. From my sealed state, I have been watching the world continuously as it grew and expanded. Your situation caught my eye... For that... I will grant you your wish..."

"My wish?" Shin suddenly perked up like a toddler, "What wish!? I get a wish? As in... like... a magic genie!?"

"No, you idiot! I will make you a Shinigami!"

"Oh..." he paused, "OOH! Hell yeah!"

The voice apparently sighed at the boy's silliness. It wasn't really Shin's fault. It was in his genes... his grandmother's genes.

"I will be your sword."

"Huh?" the brown-haired boy stopped doing what he was doing and listened.

"I will be your_ sword_, your _weapon_... Your _Soul Reaper_, your _Zanpakuto _(Soul Reaper)."

Shin immediately silenced himself; he could tell this was important.

"However... you are not yet fit to use _**me**_, of all Soul Reapers... I will grant you three more gifts. However, yet again, you must earn these... _gifts_... It is vital that you prove your determination and commitment to accepting the responsibilities of becoming the wielder of such burdens. I do not want some pansy to wield me... I want a soldier. I want a fighter. I want a warrior. To be wielded by one who does things half-heartedly, that would be a shame! I will not accept you as my master if you choose to go about on such a way. Do you understand... kozou?"

Shin, for the longest time, remained silent, trying to assess the situation.

Here was a voice. A random voice that apparently spoke to him out of thin air... laughed in his face, then chose to grant him a wish... and three gifts... just because his situation was amusing to the voice. Then the voice made troublesome demands about not being a wuss and being the epitome of a samurai. All logic told him that it was insane to follow the voice, and he was just going crazy from the last several hours and events included.

But his _heart_ told him to follow.

He took a deep breath, holding it in for a while.

"I accept."

* * *

In the living room of the Kurosaki residence, a mother was weeping upon her husband's shoulder. She'd been crying almost immediately after they had been informed of the terrifying incident and what happened to their son... which was several hours ago. The man's shirt was practically drenched now. He was beginning to get worried about her state of dehydration... but then again, his wife needed his support and needed to let her stress and state of emotional shock subside, so he just sat there.

Takeshi had hoped that his son would have come home. Come home and be safe where he should have been.

Instead, he had gone out on a date with his childhood friend, which the father was proud of his son for, but was still upset. The Japanese military really screwed it up... and now they couldn't even find his body. What had the world come to? For all Takeshi and his wife Manami knew, Shin's body could be sold in an underground black-market for organ dealing. Great.

Aside from the Kurosaki residence, down the block, was another house in the same neighborhood.

Within that house, it was currently very quiet, with only minimal noises of movement around the house being made.

Satoru was a jeweler. He was rich, owned a shop in the heart of Tokyo, and was Takeshi's best friend. All his life, he and Takeshi had wanted their children to get together and make them in-laws. Then they would all be a big, happy family, and his daughter would be happy, his wife Kimiko would be happy, and he would be happy. No worries there.

But then the police had knocked on his door and there she was. His sixteen year-old daughter with big puffy eyes with tears running down her face, hair disheveled... and the blood. There was blood _all over_ her face and torso. At first, he and his wife had almost suffered from a heart attack. Had she been hurt anywhere? Was she okay? But then he noticed that she didn't have any open wounds. That meant the blood wasn't hers. So who's blood was it?

The officer in charge told them it was his best friend's son, Shin.

And the body was lost in the midst of chaos.

He had known. He had noticed that look on Shin's face that morning when he had come to pick up Aoi to go to school together... he had that look of nervousness and eagerness... the look Satoru himself had when he wanted to ask out his wife in high school. The man figured his daughter was going to be with Takeshi's kid, and everything would be set, problem solved.

But he never anticipated this.

Now Aoi was in a state of withdrawal as if she was on some addictive drug and it was abruptly taken away... which, once again, Satoru figured was the case.

Shin was her anti-drug.

Without that boy... his daughter refused to come out of her room.

* * *

Dr. Archibald took a quick glance at the HUD displayed on his sealed visor. Once again, he was working on his ultimate virus-serum in a room sealed off, quarantined, to prevent an outbreak. As the Doctor had theorized, this procedure would be fatal if used on human beings with active brains, thus making Kurosaki Shin's body the perfect candidate for the experiment. Being legally dead, or 'brain dead' as one would assume, had created a unique situation where the body had stopped giving signals to protect itself from mutation-like influences. Of course, this made it susceptible to certain forms of cancer and radiation, so the body had to be placed in a special climate-controlled, sanitized room.

So far, the Doctor had been able to gather the necessary genes to form the body of the ideal cyborg. Increased muscle-mass, improved reflex-reaction time, and cell-recovery and regeneration.

However, there had been a slight problem with the regeneration.

With DNA, telomeres usually block chromosomes from getting tangled up or rearranging themselves. In the process of replication for new cells, telomeres are consumed, then remade with instructions from RNA, and such. But the viral DNA that the Doctor was creating would cause conflicts between the new and old DNA, possibly creating the opportunity for some highly unstable disease to form and destroy his test subject.

That would be troublesome.

Not only was there a chance for instability, the rapid build up of toxins during enhanced or natural regeneration would only lead to a dead subject within a couple years. The Doctor couldn't let _that_ happen; it would be a total waste of research! And there were still other genes he could use.

Recently, Dr. Archibald had been studying the gene-compatibilities between humans and animals. Remarkably, snake venom seemed to the best solution for this speedy build-up of unwanted poisons within the body.

Snake venom itself wasn't really a poison, it was a solution made of saliva mixed in with toxins from the body and certain enzymes that increased the prey's bodily functions of increasing production of those, or other, toxins. There were other unique functions within various species of snakes, some like: messing with heart to lower blood pressure, screwing up the neurological systems to inhibit muscle movement, increase permeability within cells so that toxins could enter more easily, release amino acids so the body would release highly acidic compounds to digest itself, increase the breakdown of ATP to create an overload of energy, or downright destruction of the prey's body.

Of course, snake venom isn't really fatal when ingested, only when injected...

By combining several varieties of snake genes, Dr. Archibald could make a hybrid gene to give the body the trait to gather its toxins and harmful substances within an alveoli (pouch) similar to a snakes, and have the subject release those stored up solutions, solving the problem. As for the telomeres, he would simply have an artificial gene for making sure the telomeres lengthened themselves over time to prepare for rapid cell division.

However, if the subject were to bite itself, well... the Doctor would have to just find another gene for venom immunity. Then again, most snakes were immune to their own venom.

That also brought up the idea of how to increase the other senses and solve eyesight degradation...

* * *

A large typhoon was spinning around in the middle of the underground training facility beneath Urahara's convenience store. It spun vapidly, whipping out large trails of spiritual energy, smashing the ground and rocks, spewing debris everywhere. The store manager himself, with Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta behind him, had finally gotten down that long ladder... only to find this disastrous catastrophe taking place.

"What the hell is that!?" The red-headed boy shouted, having to raise his voice over the large whistles of the winds.

"I don't know, Jinta-kun, it seems scary..." Ururu said quietly, despite the loud noises.

The owner and the assistant just stared, trying to assess the situation.

"My, my. I leave the place for _five minutes_ and _this_ happens. What shall we do." Honestly, Urahara had no idea what to do. How Shin, assuming it was Ichigo's grandkid, was generating this much reiatsu and creating such mayhem... he didn't have the slightest clue. It was technically unheard of. Of course, Ichigo had large amounts of spiritual energy as a child and onwards, but Shin had no traits of the sort. He couldn't even see souls, so he had nowhere near that much energy.

So how had this come to be?

Urahara had sensed an odd spiritual energy approach Shin, and hurried down to make sure that the boy was alright. But instead, by the time the former captain got down, Shin was sitting in a meditation position with his hands clapped together, with the violent winds twirling around him.

"Ooh! Look!" Jinta cried out, pointing. Something was sparkling among the edge of the wind, near the ground.

Then Urahara noticed... they weren't sparkles... they were sparks!

Suddenly, a huge flame arose, catching on to the wind. Now it was _flaming_ tornado.

The rise in the heat was noticeable, and now the temperature was getting a little too uncomfortable. Soon enough, the four were sweating. The smoke was covering the ceiling, making it dark, bringing out the intensity of the burning cyclone itself.

"This is phenomenal, manager! At this rate-," Tessai abruptly stopped, "What?" The large man paused to take a moment to think. He had felt something wet hit his forehead. "Rain!?"

On cue, an unexpected torrent of water fell from the sky.

But it wasn't ordinary. Being filled with reiatsu, the rain itself was taking its toll on the four bystanders... and it was painful.

"Aah! Urahara! Do something about this!" Jinta complained as the droplets of water shot into him like bullets.

The former twelfth division's captain could only stare at the sight before him. He didn't really feel anything as the harmful water hit him, he was only gazing upon the spectacle before him.

Bankai was nothing compared to this... The power of the sword Sokyoku, the phoenix Kikoo, which had the power of 1,000,000 soul slayers that multiplies by ten when attacking, was insignificant compared to this power. The entire room was shaking at the event taking place. What was going on?

It was as if...

Urahara gasped.

It couldn't be!

* * *

In the midst of the chaos, Shin sat. Meditating, he was in his own little world, conversing with the voice. He still couldn't see the speaker, but he knew that the spirit himself was there. And standing before him, were two men and a woman. The first man had a blue sash around his waist, with a shining mirror hanging by a thin red rope from his waist. The woman had a red sash around her neck, and a long necklace with a large diamond-shaped ruby that glowed like the rising sun. The second man had a purple sash around his chest, going from his right shoulder to his left waist and around. He had a straight-bladed sword with a purple grip and golden hilt.

The three standing before him reminded him of something that his history teacher had mentioned to him once, but Shin couldn't recall the lesson. He should have paid more attention.

"I have summoned these three into your soul," the deep voice said to him.

"My soul? What?" Shin looked around. As far as he could tell, they were in some freaky world that looked kinda like 'heaven'. It had long pathways of white marble and a clear blue sky with white clouds here and there. It seemed peaceful.

"This is your inner world... when you are calm or filled with happiness, the sun shines and this place is very enjoyable. However, if you are filled with sadness or fear, this inner world of yours will be full of rain and storm..."

"Oh..." Shin tried to understand how that worked. It made sense... a little. "And who are these guys?"

"You cannot know their names yet, just as you cannot know mine. It is reserved for the time you are worthy."

"Heh? So how do I become a Shinigami if I don't even have a sword? That doesn't make sense..." Shin scratched his head in confusion.

"That's right. But I will give you your task. I will guide you to the place of your... test."

"Test? Eh... when is it?"

"Do not worry of that now... someone is coming..."

"Huh? Wait! I still have more questions!" He waved his hands in hopes of stopping the process, but failed. The three people looked at him with warm smiles as he 'went away'.

The world faded to black as Shin felt himself drifting away from the bright world of a pure blue sky.

* * *

"Shin! Shin!"

"Huh?" The sixteen-year old soul's eyes fluttered open. His 'body' was sore all over. He stared at the ceiling with dulled eyes. Something didn't seem right. Then he noticed that the ceiling above him was burnt... burnt in a circular fashion to the crisp. Shin jumped up and looked all around him.

His grandfather, Urahara-san and the rest of the people were running towards him from a distance, but he didn't notice any of that at the moment. All he saw was the large scale of destruction around himself. The rocks and cliffs were leveled. The walls had bullet-sized holes in them. The ground he was standing in was in the shape of a whirlpool, but black and charred. What could have done this?

Then it all made sense.

He had done it. Shin had realized that while he had been meditating within his world, he must have been releasing energy after the voice had claimed to give him a gift.

Was this his gift? Vast amounts of spiritual energy in place of a sword?

He looked at himself.

The boy found that he was in Shinigami clothing. However it was considerably different. First off, the color was all wrong. His Shinigami clothing color was all inverted! And the more he looked, the more Shin found that he didn't look like a Shinigami at all. He looked more like one of those enemies that his grandfather talked about in his stories. The stories about when the bad hollow-guys kidnapped his grandmother. He realized he looked scarily familiar to an...

...an Espada.

"Yo! Shin!" Ichigo called out to him. The group had finally arrived to where he was. "Shi-in..." His voice whittled away when he fully saw Shin's attire. The Shinigami just stared at his grandson. The boy looked somewhat like his inner hollow, just the hair and skin were different, nothing like the pale whiteness and dark eyes of the Hollow within.

"Ho, Shin-kun, this is definitely a surprise," Uharaha said, "The amount of energy you gave off just now made the thirteen captains in Soul Society look like _babies._"

Jinta and Ururu were trembling while clinging on to Tessai.

"Y-you... y-you..." the red-haired child was shaking with awe and excitement, "...you were like some kind of _god_..."

"Uh..." Shin finally regained his senses, "Yeah! I was awesome! Ha... Hahaha..." He stood there with a dumb look while scratching his head.

"Shin," the manager called for his attention, "You still don't have a Zanpakuto?"

"Eh... Eto (Um)... I guess not?" Shin let a sweat-drop fall down his face.

"Well, well. I guess you're not officially a Shinigami then. What shall we do?" The store owner put on a pondering look.

Ichigo suddenly remembered why he came back.

"Oh yeah! Shin! The people are doing something to your body! They're starting the surgery or whatever!"

"What!?" The newly formed Shinigami jumped up at the news. "Crap! We have to do something!"

"Er... yeah!" Ichigo tried to compensate by thinking of 'something'.

In literal flash, Shin was already at the stairs.

The group left behind was frozen in shock. Shin had just used a very advanced form of Shunpo. In a split second, the young death god had flash-stepped about a kilometer... and the boy had used it subconsciously. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"It's in this room," Ichigo led the two of them into the recesses of the ship.

They slipped inside, just as the doctor in a yellow bio-suit entered a sealed room. Shin saw his body on a table with machines monitoring his vitals and such. He was never so glad and upset in his life that it was alive.

* * *

"Proceeding as scheduled," the doctor stated, "Starting First Phase."

The doctor wiped down Shin's arm with anesthetic. He began to take out a sealed tube with solution inside. It was a clear, water-like substance.

* * *

"What the hell is that!?" the white-clothes Shinigami started to panic, "And why is my head covered in bandages!?" he pointed to the body.

"Shut up! Wait 'till its over!"

* * *

"Checking vitals, check. First Phase complete. Starting Second Phase."

Dr. Borvinski took nearby sterilized needle and dipped it into the solution container.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ it's safe to just sit here and wait!?"

"Probably!" Ichigo had an annoyed look written all over his face.

"Whattya mean _probably!?_"

* * *

"Injecting," the man said into the radio. The liquid began to pour into Shin's arm.

* * *

"_Oh kami!_ I can't look!" Shin covered his eyes.

* * *

"Um, Dr. Archibald, nothing is happening..." The suited doctor seemed confused.

Then the body began to slightly shake with spasms, and the machines monitoring began to make excessive noises.

"Oh shit. Doctor! I think something is happening!" The man in the yellow suit began to move erratically.

* * *

"Gwaahh! My chance to return to life is over!!" Shin slumped to the ground dramatically.

"Ugh..." Ichigo smacked his forehead and let his hand slide down.

"That's it! I'm going in!" Shin's soul jumped into his body.

"W-wait, you idiot!" The Shinigami Captain tried to grab and stop him.

Immediately, he felt the difference of the 'before' and 'after' effects. This body was more muscular, lean, and he could feel the energy running throughout his body. It had power. However even with his eyes closed, he could see some kind of light running within the darkness. It looked like... a Heads Up Display.

_A HUD? _Shin 'stared' with his eyes closed. Words came up 'on screen' and began to run.

_Kensiegan System – Operating System... What kind of name is that? Kenseigan? What? Viral transmutation? 'The hell!?_

Then the details of his changes began to run down, Shin read every detail as fast as he could. He caught the words, 'System A.I.' So there was another 'program' within his brain now... well a mechanical brain. He had become a _cyborg_, of all things! The details on his HUD picked up radio signals, operating RADAR, and wireless signals on the left of the screen. His vitals including heart rate, mental state, and health were listed on the right. On the top was his current status, labeled 'Standby'.

A voice monitoring signal appeared in the bottom left-hand corner.

The doctor next to him was laughing. It pissed him off.

Shin opened his eyes and grabbed the doctor's arm at blurred speeds... then squeezed hard. He could hear the bones break like Rice Crispies.

The man screamed, and the alarm went off.

* * *

A/N: So, Shin is now a cyborg. A cyborg in a Bleach fanfic. I wonder how this will all play out... Of course I know the answer! I'm just not telling you guys. Lolz – gotta wait 'till next chapter for the rest of the story. Later.


	6. ACT 01: GWS CH05

Here is the next chapter, sorry for taking so long; had work and stuff to do

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_Shin opened his eyes and grabbed the doctor's arm at blurred speeds... then squeezed hard. He could hear the bones break like Rice Crispies._

_The man screamed, and the alarm went off._

* * *

"Damn," Shin said aloud. He was stuck in a sealed room.

The first thing he did when he opened his eyes was look for a way out. He knew he had increased strength. He knew he had heightened senses. He knew he had augmented reflexes. He already knew everything, due to the programs implemented into his mechanical brain... that he already knew about.

Just by entering the body and letting the system boot up, he knew all the information preloaded onto the hardware.

Just by letting the information flow into his 'awareness', Shin knew he could read wireless encryption signals, hack into a nearby server integrated into the ship that was connected to the radio on board, and free himself by overriding the electrical signals.

Just like that. So he went for it.

Accessing, the the feature labeled, 'Tools' then selecting things at random, Shin was shown at least 3,000 signals from the nearby cities within a 200-mile radius. That was too many, so Shin decided to play around with the wireless signal-reader until he found the distance meter. He decided to set it to 20 yards, not knowing how large the ship was. Within exactly 2.3 seconds, as shown on the HUD, five encrypted signals appeared 'on screen'. Shin felt he should 'decode' them to uncover the sender and receiver addresses to find out where exactly on the ship it was or what the signal was associated with.

However, when he attempted to do so, words in a red box came into his view,

"Access Denied."

What is this? Shin wondered why the system would not let him decode them.

"You are crossing into Restricted Data; Please divert your trajectory."

"Huh?" Shin heard a male, European-accented voice ringing within his head. "Uh... Not another one... I already have one of those talkin' to me..."

"I do not comply with your statement. There is only one System AI written onto this hardware."

"System AI?"

"Correct, I am KIRA, standing for, 'Kenseigan Integrated Ramification Assessment.' Your file type is unknown; please provide the proper information."

"My file type?" Shin was just utterly confused.

"Your file type is unknown, please provide the proper details to assess your data. If you are unable to provide the right file data, you will be categorized as a computer virus to be eliminated."

"W-wait! I'm a soul! The soul!"

"Soul? Your file type does not match listed variants. Please clarify, Strike One."

"Strikes? You have a strike-out system!? Holy crap! U-UH... I died! And my soul left this body so it was technically dead, but I'm back! I came back"

"The procedure did not entail this data. As listed as a part of death, there is no information on 'the soul', nor is there information of this 'soul' file to return once 'deleted'. Therefore, your information is invalid and/or void. Identify yourself. Strike Two."

Shin stared at the white wall in disbelief. He had come this far to regain the ability to remain in the world of the living, continuing on in his own body, only to find that a computer system had taken over. The body was originally his, so why be rejected? What had he done to deserved being deleted? All he did was return to life...

"W-why am I being erased?"

"You have numerous faults listed in the registry. First, you have entered the software, bypassing all forms of security in just 1 microsecond, without any verification code. Two, you integrated your being into the hardware and software almost immediately, classifying yourself as a Trojan-class, but did nothing harmful to the program and only began to monitor and read coding, thus confusing my ability to categorize you. Third, you took over the system for quite a bit, even though your file type is incompatible by computing standards of this system- and you injured a 'moderator'... who is now on the floor, fainted from shock. Lastly, you tried to breach the control systems of this ship, endangering everyone on board, including the head administrator of this system project.

Now, identify yourself. Or else I will have to declare Strike Three. Ten. Nine. Eight..."

Shin tried to think of a way out... He couldn't think of one.

"Five. Four. Three..."

"I'm Kurosaki Shin!"

"... This is the name of the host of this body. Assuming an identity would only add to your offenses."

Shin tried to think of a way to explain.

"Would it make sense... If I said I labeled myself as the Master Program?"

"Master Program? Explain."

"As in I'm the head program running things here. Just like you're an artificial intelligence, what if I say I'm an _organic intelligence_?"

"So, you are stating that you are the software-program written into the body before I was installed?"

"Yes. Since death, my uh- 'being' was forced to leave, thus leaving the 'organic registry' blank... and um... leaving the 'organic hardware' unable to function... I think."

"This new data makes sense, but it still does not explain why you have returned. Organic beings are not to return to life once officially dead."

"Who says?" Shin smirked, "I did it."

"... Welcome back."

* * *

Ichigo stared at his grandson talking to himself.

He found it very awkward and freaky to see Shin talking to himself as if he had some kind of schizophrenic problem. The Shinigami captain was beginning to get very worried if his grandson would now become a psychopath due to becoming crazy from the experience of re-entering his body without making sure everything about it was ok. This made the elite Shinigami sweat.

"Hey, Ichigo-jii!"

The death-god became instantly annoyed by the familiar voice.

"Huh?"

"I didn't notice you standing there! There's an AI in my head."

"What?" Ichigo didn't really get it. He knew that the scientists were doing something crazy, but not _this_ crazy.

"Yeah, theres an artificial intelligence program in my head, and its currently asking me what the heck I'm talking to."

"I guess mechanical things can't see spiritual objects."

"I guess not. Maybe..." Shin looked as if he were in deep thought.

"What?" the death god had a bad feeling about whatever Shin was about to do.

Shin closed his eyes, and began to concentrate. The teenager slowly channeled reiatsu to his head, and then into the foremost part of his face. He then distributed the spiritual energy into his mechanical retina, and through that, into his lens. Although the material was now man-made, he was still able to force the energy through the artificial nerves. By involving spiritual energy into a physical entity, he could create an opportunity for his eyes to register what he was seeing.

"Oh," KIRA suddenly said.

"You see it?" Shin asked.

"See what?" Ichigo was confused, looking around.

"Not you," the recently-formed Shinigami told his senior, "I meant Kira."

"Who's Kira?" the death god captain was now more confused then ever.

"The AI!" Shin huffed.

"Oh. Let's get out of here then."

"Huh?" the boy looked confused. How were they going to get out?

"HA!" Ichigo shouted with a booming voice. The blast of spiritual energy sent from his blade caused an explosion against the entire wall, and the doors flew open, lodging themselves deeply into the opposite wall. The smoke from the burst had covered the entire hallway, while crewmen and military personnel attempted to find out what the hell was going on.

"Run!" the older Shinigami grabbed his grandson's wrist and practically shunpo-dragged him out to the deck and into the sea.

* * *

"_**Damn it!**_" Dr. Archibald cried out. "How could we _lose him_ like that!?"

"I- W-we-" the Security Manager had no idea how to respond to the emergency. All he witnessed at the time of the experiment was a large boom and then the subject had just disappeared into _thin air!_ The explosion had rocked the entire ship, causing many of the equipment and crewmen to become disarrayed, thrown into a frenzy of panic and pandemonium. They had figured it was an enemy assault, only to find that the radar was clear and no enemy was in sight. Of course, the SM officer himself had just slumped to the ground in a state of shock and amazement. Just what in the world had the motley of scientists been working on?

"Do you have any idea how much I invested into this project!?" the Doctor screamed, "Do you!? _Do you!?_" The man's nose was practically in the head officer's face.

"Uh- well, I-"

"It cost the entire team _four billion dollars!_ **FOUR BILLION!**" The crazed maniac was now beet red, and sweating profusely from frustration. "It took us five years, nearly 43,800 for just myself working twenty-four-seven – and about 657,000 man-hours for the _entire team_... what kind of _**half-assed**_ security are you running on this ship!? You told me that no subject, human or non-human would be able to escape that sealed chamber!"

The fact that the Doctor had calculated that in his head within a second was amazing, especially with the rate in which he spoke.

"One explosion and your men are all- _Wooooaaaaaahhh!_" the man made wild hand gestures with his exaggerations, "And you yourself sit there like some _hypnotized child_ _**mesmerized**_ by candy!"

Knocking over several boxes of laboratory tools, the doctor shouted out loud.

"THIS! IS! **UN-**_**ACCEPTABLE!**_"

Dr. Archibald quickly began to walk away, towards his private quarters, leaving the stunned officer leaning against the wall. He was too busy thinking of some plan to retrieve his prized specimen.

It wasn't just some prized subject that he had lost.

This was about a WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) running about freely, armed and dangerous. Not only that, it was the first of its kind... unique and special in itself, the first cyborg in history with an advanced first-class mind-level AI. It could disable, enable, or mess with weapons systems wireless on board enemy or allied controls, and override them... by itself. It could hack computer security systems that are at the governmental level – being unable to be hacked itself. The mechanical technology of the OS and hardware were so powerful, that if a live human being were to possess it, they would be able to think about over a thousand different things at once- and still be able to process the information within three seconds.

That was only the technological aspect. Biologically, the Kenseigan-equipped weapon had viral DNA involving the components of various species of animals. Mainly the variants of the wolf, hawk, and snake.

A wolf was an excellent candidate for any situation. The mammal predator was naturally born with survival and fighting instincts. Alone, the wolf would be able to fend for itself, learning to adapt to the various obstacles it stumbled upon and then fighting alone successfully. In a pack, it would be able to act as a supporting unit among many to help others and work towards the goal for the sake of the team.

The hawk had eyes for distance, and the ability to spot enemies and targets, a vital necessity for a soldier. Not only that, the hawk had the instinct to act upon sight, able to distinguish quickly and decide quickly. Also a valuable trait for a soldier in the battlefield, coupled with the grace to carry out orders of the head with speed, skill, and efficiency.

Lastly, the snake was the most difficult to 'install'. With over two and half thousand species discovered and counting, the snakes' species included a vast amount of characteristics for the Doctor to choose from. He had learned that the snake would continue to grow as long as it lived, bringing up the topic of his cell-division theory. He finally found a way to get rid of harmful toxins and direct them straight to the cuspids (canine teeth), creating human-like fangs. Of course, he had created the venom-extraction-excretion system to be controlled by the software installed, completely immune to any substance that was brought forth. That way the toxins would be stored and released when the cyborg wanted to use it... not have it constantly dribble out of the mouth – that would be a hindrance.

Also, he had been able to base the ideas of strengthened muscles and reflexes off of the serpentine creature, creating a more effective CQB (Close Quarters Battle) fighter. All the limbs and ligaments had more power and flexibility to strike on command, perfectly linked to the brain with the ability to attack with accuracy and precision. Dr. Archibald truly believed the snake was a interesting and amazing creature.

However, to think that his wonderful creation was now going to be a bother to the society he helped create – was painful. He was absolutely angered and terrified that both would be destroyed by this malfunctioning monster running loose, as if a rabid dog had been unleashed and let out into the streets.

The question that ultimately bothered him was not how he would capture his subject or restrain it once found. The thought that kept pestering his mind was why the cyborg had left.

Why had the cyborg even opted to leave, and even in such a violent manner?

The first code of command that the software-writers and programmers had sent to the brain was to 'Standby' and 'Wait for Further Orders'.

So why had the AI act on its own? It hadn't even overloaded, not that it was possible, so that was out of the question.

Dr. Archibald continued to think... and think... and then think some more.

He gasped, and thought of a conclusion he hadn't been able to think of before. It had totally missed his calculations altogether.

"Stupid, stupid!" He whacked his forehead.

Of course he hadn't thought about _that _possibility!

* * *

The remains of the Japanese SAT military personnel on the 'Execution' mission sat in the debriefing room of the ship's inter-quarters.

The five men sat in their respective chairs, anxiously waiting for something to happen.

Especially Noguchi Arata, formerly known as Delta Two... the man who failed to save a civilian life, and the cause of the commencement of the entire event...

...or so he felt.

Deep down, Arata was in turmoil for failing to prevent a seventeen year old kid's life, and now the boy's body was being used as some sick experimental subject. It was his fault that he boy didn't get to live and be with his pink-haired girlfriend or enjoy life to the fullest.

Delta Two wanted to kill himself.

* * *

"Everyone," Dr. Archibald began, "I have some very disturbing news."

Every scientist and military squad leader had taken a seat in the debriefing room, patiently waiting for the Doctor to say what needed to be said.

"Yesterday, you may have felt or experienced the after-effects of one of my test subjects, KIRA, Version 2.0.

At about 22:18 (10:18 PM), adjusted to the International Date Line Time-Zone, the U.S.S. Abram Carrier experienced a sudden... explosion within the testing chamber. This of course was the result of my test subject 'waking up' and violently escaping for seemingly unknown reason. However, I have come to a plausible conclusion as to why my KIRA made an attempt to, and successfully escaped despite the encoded commands."

The scientists and officers alike were whispering amongst themselves, expressing their own opinions about the 'Doc' and his experiment.

"Now, the project details in itself are Level Four Classified material as categorized by Command, so I cannot explain it to you thoroughly. However, I can tell you this: My team and I were working to create the first human cyborg, and in doing so implemented the proper hardware material and biological equipment."

Now the whispering had become more intense and slightly louder.

"You may have heard of me, Dr. Archibald, as the 'Doctor', who has worked for the government under discreet dealings. In the past, I have created many types of supplements for the soldier's body, all illegal of course – which is why I was ordered to do most of my work while being paid... 'under the table'. But this time, I have been called to do something of utmost importance...

... I have been hired this time, to create something that will eventually wipe off the word 'war' from the face of this planet.

In hopes of showing the world our power, the United States government and military departments have coincided to discuss the terms of making this dream come true.

Of course, I, Dr. Archibald, the world's leading scientist in biological experimentation, looked upon other research materials and my own to come up with a way to create this 'ultimate soldier'. This soldier was necessary to show the world that it would be unified under one nation, so that war would be no longer necessary.

However, I have made a mistake. I have disregarded the most important behavior of one of my test variables."

The room was in an uproar. To think that a leading scientist would make an error that would cause major terror upon the world was terrifying, especially if he disregarded something so important in his work.

The Doctor tried to calm his audience down.

"People! I have more to say!" the man waved his hands to get their attention.

Almost immediately the crowd settled.

"In my experiment, I have disturbed something mankind should not have ever tried to play with. I have 'played around' with the human genome. In order to do this, I used a highly advanced modified hybrid of various deadly viruses of the world."

Once again, many people tried to hold their tongues and wait for anything else that the Doctor might have to say.

"Of course, in order to keep things under control, I have had programmers pre-write any information on controlling the mutated DNA into the mechanical brain that my team created. But I forgot one very... very... _very important_ thing.

I have let the fact slip out of my mind – I have made the cyborg into an adaptable war machine, able to adjust its characteristics for any life or death situation.

...Of course, this very concept was based on the viral DNA that I injected – an adaptable piece of virus DNA that I have fooled around with, and with that I have forgotten that the virus itself would adapt to survive, not stay as one entity – it would need to spread...

... so to survive...

... it would need to replicate...

... and replication... would mean reproduction...

... and by reproduction..."

The Doctor paused, his face becoming rather pale. His listeners leaned forward in their seats, their ears nearly expanding to hear the last vital piece of information.

"_...infecting_ other people."

The room was in chaos.

* * *

AN: Man, this was a difficult chapter.

Now your probably sitting there going, 'What the heck is going to happen to everyone now?'

Well... don't worry, 'cause I have a genius plot in my head and I will continue to write it out... if I don't get lazy and procrastinate lol.

Send in reviews!


	7. ACT 01: GWS CH06

Damn, Shin is screwed. lol

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_"...Of course, this very concept was based on the viral DNA that I injected – an adaptable piece of virus DNA that I have fooled around with, and with that I have forgotten that the virus itself would adapt to survive, not stay as one entity – it would need to spread..._

_... so to survive..._

_... it would need to replicate..._

_... and replication... would mean reproduction..._

_... and by reproduction..."_

_The Doctor paused, his face becoming rather pale. His listeners leaned forward in their seats, their ears nearly expanding to hear the last vital piece of information._

_"..._infecting_ other people."_

_The room was in chaos._

* * *

"Baldy! Baldy! Baldy! Hahaha!"

"Jinta-kun, you shouldn't do that to him. It's mean..."

"Aw, shut up Ururu! You're always on my case!"

The raven-haired girl just stood and let out a frail mumble while looking at their guest, Shin.

As a result of the experimentation upon his body, the newly made Shinigami had enhanced reflexes, enhanced vision, enhanced intelligence, enhanced everything. He was beginning to appreciate mad scientists for a bit. The only thing he hated was the fact that now he was some bio-engineered freak...

... and he had no hair on his head.

"This sucks," the white-clothed death god muttered.

"I know! Bwahaha!" the red-haired youngster laughed out loud, "At least be thankful its not shiny like a bowling ball! Hahaha!"

"Ugh..." the sixteen year-old let out a groan, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well for starters, you could meditate," a familiar male's voice sounded through the air.

"Huh?" Shin turned to see Urahara standing there with his cane.

"I said you could meditate," the store manager sighed, "It'll help you relieve the stress."

The death-god stared at the ground.

"Jinta, Ururu. Come, leave him be." The shop owner motioned for them to follow him back up the ladder, leaving Shin in the training grounds alone.

After leaving Shin's eyes stared into space. The HUD system from his 'Kenseigan' vision had not disappeared, but identified his current state as 'Idle'.

"Is there something wrong?" KIRA's voice came in.

"Huh?" Shin perked up, surprised by the once-quiet AI.

"Your heart-rate was slowing down, and your brain activity was decreasing."

"Hmm," the teenager sat on the ground with his legs crossed, assuming the meditation-position. "You could say I'm a little... fatigued from all these events happening all so fast."

Shin explored on his HUD for a bit, talking to the artificial intelligence about things.

It was simply amazing; all he had to do was _think_ about it, and _will_ it to happen, and whatever program it was opened itself, did what he wanted it to do, and when he wanted it. There were over a hundred different features, and he knew them all – just by letting KIRA handle the flow of information into his conscience. Not only that, the software would never be outdated. The sentient AI used his brainwaves to detect wireless signals to access the Internet, thus studying various types of new data available and upgrading by forming its own form of software.

And if there wasn't a program to help Shin handle a certain type of situation, then the two minds would just simply create one.

The other cool thing was that technically – Shin never had to rest.

The mechanical brain would never have to take a break, therefore the cyborg never had to 'shut down' to recover energy. This was coupled with his new body that used energy efficiently and effectively, so the augmented soldier could go weeks without eating.

Of course, Shin had another limitless supply of energy: His reiatsu.

From what he and KIRA had concluded from their discussion was that Shin was a new type of Shinigami, with more than one zanpakuto. This was unheard of, but never heard to be impossible. So because of his extra soul reapers at hand, he had more energy than necessary.

The downfall was that he had no idea how to control it. It was constantly radiating off of him, as KIRA had shown him on the HUD – making him an open target for anyone who could sense the type of energy. To think of a way to receive help, the cyborg teenager decided he should meditate to talk to the entities within himself.

"Okay," the AI declared, "I'm going to watch whats going on out here, so you go ahead and try to meditate your mind."

"Er, I'll just focus on making contact with the _voice_."

Externally, Shin's face was neutral and his eyes wide open, but it was KIRA who was in control at the moment.

The boy's mind had already drifted to his inner world.

* * *

"He's coming," the deep voice said aloud.

"Really now," a female voice questioned, "this is the first time he's tried to talk to us personally."

"This should be interesting," a male voice said to himself.

"Of course it should be," another male's voice muttered, slightly laughing, "He's actually making an attempt to talk with _us_."

Shin's spiritual body began to form within his inner world.

"Oh, here he comes!" the second male's voice shouted with anticipation.

"Ouch!" the boy's body dropped to the ground, landing on his rear.

"Welcome," the first male's voice greeted him.

"Uh," Shin tried brushed himself off and tried to make his appearance presentable, "Hi..."

"Well if it isn't the young one," the female grinned, "You're cute."

"Eh? Uh..." The white-clothed Shinigami let out a blush, "well, I already have a girlfriend – sorry."

"Ooh burned," the purple-sashed man smirked, "but we already knew that."

"Huh?" the boy was confused, "What? How?"

"We always know, we are a part of you now," the mirror-holding male told him, "...We will see what you see, and know what you know."

"Um, thats kind of embarrassing," Shin let out a feeble laugh while scratching his head, making him resemble his grandfather a bit.

Shin looked at the three of them. They were all clothed in the same way: black, except for their respectable colored sashes that distinguished them from each other. The Shinigami had a feeling he knew of these three from somewhere, but he couldn't recall the memory. He looked at the three items they held: the mirror, the necklace, and the tsurugi (double-edged sword).

_Hmmm..._ Shin thought to himself. _Those look familiar..._

Suddenly the teenager realized that his vision was modified. The HUD was still in affect!

He quickly found the "Memory Scan" feature, a tool that scanned his memory cache for information that he may have 'forgotten', a very useful tool for times like these. Making use of this handy program, Shin scanned his memory for the words 'Trio', 'Trinity', 'Mirror, Necklace, Sword,' and other words of relevance. He waited as the list completed itself, displaying various names of bands and music, but he removed those from the list. He then filtered out the ones that had anything to do with school, history, and stories. The teenager quickly used his Kenseigan to analyzed and skim through each one, looking for specific groupings of the three items and the colors.

Shin then saw a peculiar file listed as 'Mythology'. He opened it and gasped.

"So that's who you guys are..."

"Figured it out, bouya (Boy)?" the female asked in a rather teasing manner.

"Yeah," the teen pondered on his new discovery, "But that's not what I'm here for."

"Oh," the blue-sashed man seemed amused, "What are you here for then?"

"I... I'm here for the test... and for help on how to control my reiatsu," Shin said loudly for them to hear.

A deeper voice began to be heard in the background, laughing.

"Ah, kozou," the deep male's voice said aloud, "Finally, you have the guts to become worthy..."

* * *

"Hah!" An flashing red explosion occurred, spraying debris and molten rock in every direction.

"Hmm?" Urahara wondered what that was. He had sensed a spike in Shin's reiatsu earlier, and sporadic bursts of energy throughout the training grounds.

"Heagh!" Another battle cry was heard, and large slash went through a boulder in front of the store manager... the top half slid off and fell to the ground, and a huge gust of wind was sent towards the store owner's way, so powerful that the store owner had to quickly bring his hand to his head to keep his hat from blowing off. Urahara looked to see who had cut the rock with such force, but no one was behind the desecrated piece of earth.

He then saw blurs. Several blurs. Many whitish-silver blurs with a slabs of black mixed in...

Urahara strained to see what was moving so fast.

"Hyah!" Once again, several more explosions occurred. The former twelfth division captain now had a fairly good idea of who this 'blur' was.

_So, he finally gets to training himself..._ The man thought. _Time to test the boy out._

"_Sing, Benihime_ (Crimson Princess)!" Urahara's cane transformed into a sword with a unique handle and blade. He swung, aiming for the white blur and releasing a burst of red spiritual energy.

Almost instantly, the white blur moved aside, avoiding the ray of energy that split the ground and stopped in the distance.

Urahara saw Shin, but oddly, he noticed something vastly different about the boy.

Shockingly, there were three zanpakuto. Two in his hands, and one on his back. The sheaths of the two swords that Shin held in his hands were strapped to his left waist and thigh, while the sheath holding the other revealed a blue tang (grip). The two swords currently held had a red and purple tang. The swords themselves gave off a unique aura, each strikingly similar to the elements of the world.

The most significant change was the hair.

Urahara noticed that the boy's hair had grown back – but with a different color. It was now a silver color, with streaks of shiny reddish-orange lighting up the bangs. Unlike the more ruffled look from his original hair style, this hair had grown out completely straight, slightly covering his eyes and ears. It made him look like a completely different person.

With the odd combination of blue eyes, red-orange and silver hair, together with his inverted Shinigami colors, the boy looked almost too much like an Espada.

It bothered the man.

"Hup!" The store owner swung Benihime once more, once again thrusting the energy at Shin.

Likewise, the teen moved to intercept. He turned into a flash, his blurry after-images filling up the entire floor.

"_**Kasei**_ (Flames)!" The Espada look-alike swung the red-hilted katana and a ray of flame rushed towards Urahara; the attack moved in a fashion similar to Ichigo's _Getsuga Tensho_ (Heaven Stabbing Moon Fang) in Bankai form. The heat of the attack singed Urahara's hair and left the ground beneath it slightly steaming.

In response to the offensive maneuver, the store manager returned yet another wave of Benihime's energy.

Countering the move, Shin cried out while swinging the purple hilted sword.

"_**Kamikaze**_ (Divine Wind)!" A gust of razor-like wind made its way towards the man, blowing and slicing objects in the way of its target.

"_**ChishioKiri Tate**_ (BloodMist Shield)!" Immediately, a red see-through barrier appeared in front of the former captain, and the attack met the shield head-on. It persisted to cut through the barrier, but died away after a few minutes. To make up for the lost time, Urahara used shunpo to appear five meters behind the boy and swung his sword.

Seeing that he was going to be hit, Shin immediate threw the sword in his left hand up into the air and grabbed the blue-tanged sword, pulling out and shouting the command.

"_**Hansha**_ (Reflection)!" A circular, clear-bluish shield appeared behind Shin, which was in front of Urahara. As the man swung, the burst of crimson energy that was released hit the said shield, and began to persevere to break through. However it began to ball up and then released itself back at the store manager. Urahara's eyes widened as he saw his own attack head towards his face.

A large explosion filled the area.

Shin turned around expecting to see Urahara's damaged body, but found nothing. Confused he searched for reiatsu signals in the area, and quickly detected his opponents energy behind him once again, so he swiveled on his foot to face his attacker.

"That was dangerous you know," the manager sighed, "-didn't expect that one to happen."

"How are you still alive?" Shin asked quizzically.

"Well, I used this inflatable gigai!" Smiling, the owner held up a deflated balloon that looked like himself, "You see?"

"That deceived me pretty well..." the boy smirked. At this point, he was holding the red and purple sword in his hands again, with the blue sheathed. His hands tightened their grip on the tangs.

"Hmm, but from what I hear about your eyes... you should be able to tell that it was a fake, can't you?"

It was true, he could have. However the problem was not identifying the target, but seeing when the man had switched places. He could tell that there was no DNA evident within the fake body's remains, just reiatsu. It was just that Shin couldn't catch the movement, nor was he prepared to do so... troublesome. The white Shinigami figured he would have to somehow increase his mechanical, preset vision... but how would he do that? No one could make a machine run faster unless they provided more energy...

...more energy.

Shin's eyes widened as he had a revalation: more energy! By pumping more reiatsu to his eyes, he could increase the rate in which his eyes picked up moving spiritual objects! He tried it, and he could feel the his vision become clearer and more detailed.

"Haah!" The younger Shinigami swung both swords, releasing both attacks at once. The winds gushed towards Urahara, clearing the path. The flames that followed immediately fed up on the fire, wasting no time lighting up the air-filled space with bright, intense heat.

Once again, Urahara used his bloodmist shield and held out.

"Relying on the same tacti-" Shin stared at the man's left hand, "Hm?"

The store owner had his hand raised in the air, mouth grinning, and snapped his fingers. Immediately Shin felt a dreadful source of power radiating throughout the entire area... a dark and terrifying energy that he hadn't countered before. His eyes frantically scanned the area, and a black blur appeared on his HUD. Slowing down the frame rate in another window on his vision screen, he saw that it was another Shinigami, but dressed rather differently. A similar orange hairstyle was visible.

"Yo," a face popped in his face, Ichigo's specifically.

"Wha-?" Shin stumbled backwards in surprise. This was Ichigo? Why the sudden change in appearance?

"This," The senior Shinigami swung his sword, "...is my _bankai_... _**Getsuga Tensho!**_" A large blackish-red energy wave was sent hurling at Shin.

* * *

The detectives hired had given up, saying it was nearly impossible to retrieve what was lost. After several days of searching, top detectives from all over Japan couldn't find one clue as to where the body may have went, nor did they have any idea where it most likely was. They had searched all the black markets, underground dealings, illegal auctions, and whatnot. Despite their efforts, they still could not find it.

Today, the Kurosaki and Kiyodama family, along with all close relations, donned the color black.

Quickly leaving for the their appointment at 4:00 PM.

* * *

"Ha... ha... ha... shit..."

"Huah... ha... no cursing young man..."

"Shuttup you old geezer... you nearly killed me..."

"What did you say!?" A familiar vein popped out on Ichigo's forehead as Shin braced himself for a beating.

After a bit of brawling on the floor, the two eventually tired out again (not really) – slumped on the floor.

"Hey," the death god captain called for his grandson's attention.

"Hm?" the younger one turned his head to get a better view of the said death god.

"You know, before I came in, I found out today there is a rather sad, but special event."

"Which is?"

* * *

Several cars pulled up to a hill side, which was filled with various monuments. Out of each car, in their respective order, came out families, relatives, acquaintances, or people who just came out of respect. From the first car, out came the Kurosaki family. Takeshi walked away from the vehicle supporting his trembling wife, afraid that she'd collapse from her lack of strength. From the second, the Kiyodama family followed closely behind the first couple, with Aoi slowly treading behind with a blank look on her face. Out of the few cars following directly behind them came out the families of Motoyama Kazuhiko and Yoshihara Kin, as well as Furutsuchi Masao and Sakurabana Harumi, also close friends of Shin.

They began to gather at a particular monument, and waited for the time to reach four o'clock.

* * *

"Where are you taking us?"

"Don't worry about it now, you'll see."

Shin pouted a little.

He was beginning to get annoyed for a bit. First his gramps threw him some black dress attire and a black tie and told him to wear it. Then he was told to get in the car and had been driving for at least a good forty-five minutes. Wherever the hell they were going, Shin decided to be quiet and think things out.

"Hey, how come I don't get cool sunglasses like yours..." the boy pouted once more.

"Unlike you, I'm actually dead and people can recognize me – which would be a very bad thing. You on the other hand..."

"I'm what?" Shin asked, curious as to what was so odd, "I'm supposed to be dead too."

"You look like a completely different person."

* * *

It was five minutes to four.

The last groups of people began to gather around and mix in with the small crowd.

Aoi hated it... she hated having to be reminded of his death...

... she loved him so much.

* * *

The two men stepped out from the car, each of their unique hair likely to draw attention from the people around them, but today... many were too focused on the event taking place in the center of the gathering.

Shin began to deviate away from his grandfather, walking towards a familiar sight: a pink haired girl he knew very well.

Without thinking he walked right up to her side and stood there, looking over to see her face. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Her eyes displayed dark circles and a slight red tinge, showing that she hadn't slept much and probably cried during those sleepless nights. Her skin was slightly pale and whiter than what he recognized it as, telling him that she probably didn't eat much either. She looked thinner too... and her clothing was sloppy, contradictory to her usual neatness, which also revealed that her life was in shambles. Shin realized that his death probably made Aoi very, very, very upset and left her heartbroken. He himself began to feel the slight twinge of depression, regretting the fact that he couldn't tell her who he was... not that she'd even believe or recognize him.

As he stared upon her complexion, his eyes caught the sight of a tear rolling down her face... than another... and another...

Soon it was a river of tears, as if a dam had broken, releasing all the stored water that was held back.

At that moment it began to rain.

_Good thing that my old 'G' told me to hold on to this..._

Shin quickly opened up an umbrella and conveniently, it covered the both of them.

Wondering as to the cause of sudden stop in the downfall of rain upon her head, Aoi looked up to her left, looking into the the brilliant blue eyes of a male teenager she had never quite seen before.

In return to this unexpected action, Shin outwardly kept his cool, looking back into her eyes just as intently. Internally, he was frantic. He was talking to his AI for help.

"Crap!" Shin cried within his head, "I haven't seen her in forever and she doesn't know who I am! This could be awkward! KIRA! Help me!"

"I'm a computer program. I do not know how to help you."

"What? But, your like – an ultimate computer program! That can search the Internet!"

"I have no preset commands for these so-called... 'romantic encounters'. Go help yourself human."

A drop of sweat fell down the side of Shin's face as his lips slightly parted. He was abandoned... without allies... in the middle of a warfare called 'Love'.

* * *

Aoi stared into this man's eyes.

He had the most beautiful set of eyes that she had ever seen, almost as if they were a perfect molding of glass. The perfect hue of blue that turned darker towards the center that drew in her conscience, her mind lost within a never-ending world. She quickly tried to draw away her attention, but failed to do so. He just kept looking into her eyes warmly without saying anything... which was manly on his part.

From his face, which looked familiar, she could easily tell the male was not much older than herself.

Where had she seen his face before? His gaze had stopped her tears, as she was entranced by his unprecedented attention. Aoi tried to remember the man's face. She definitely did not recognize the odd combination of colors within his hair, nor did she recognize those attractive eyes...

_... attractive?_

_Where did that come from?_ She thought hard. This was no time to be thinking about other men... she had come to pay respects for the man she loved: Kurosaki Shin.

With all her strength, Aoi tried to look away, attempting to devote her full conscience to Shin, but the more she tried... the harder she found it to pull her gaze.

He had captivated her.

Suddenly he pulled his eyes away, turning his head rapidly in a wild fashion like a rabbit sensing a predator in a direction away from herself.

* * *

"Enemy Detected," KIRA stated within his mind.

Shin's HUD had locked on to a familiar looking man...

"Oh shit," the boy muttered to his AI counterpart.

"'Oh shit' indeed."

The short, wide man, who, according to the Kenseigan, was about 5'11" and about 82.6 Kilograms (about 182 lbs.). His scanned DNA structure proved he was a man of high intelligence, but his appearance did not say so. The man had a simple brown overcoat and hat, wearing black funeral-attire underneath... just like everyone else. He held an umbrella, normal for a rainy day like this. He looked too normal. The man motioned his hand for them to walk over.

"That," KIRA mentioned, "Is the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" Shin questioned.

"The man who technically created us."

* * *

A/N: Oooooh!! What's gonna happen now! You are going to have to wait! Heheheh. UNTIL NEXT TIME KIDZ LOLZ.

Send in those reviews! I'm looking forward to it; need em for motivation and stuff.


	8. ACT 01: GWS CH07

Here is the next chapter, sorry for taking so long; had work and stuff to do

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_...The man motioned his hand for them to walk over._

_"_That_," KIRA mentioned, "Is the Doctor."_

_"The Doctor?" Shin questioned._

_"The man who technically created us."_

* * *

Shin stared at the man's blunt action to approach them. Was this guy an Idiot? Why would Shin return to the man who had screwed his life over... and made it a hell of a lot more interesting? Despite his instinct to stay away from the 'enemy', he decided to give it a shot.

The silver-haired male turned back to the beautiful girl next to himself and grabbed her hand, bringing it to the umbrella. Making sure she had a good firm hold on the handle, he calmly walked over to the Doctor. Knowing that this may have dire consequences, the boy braced himself for all things to come. This was it.

"Hello," he said rather dull-like.

"KIRA, Why-"

"I'm not KIRA."

"What?" the Doctor was honestly confused. He didn't expect this in his calculations. Most of all, he had expected conflicts between the computer program and virus within to have caused a corruption within the artificial intelligence.

"I'm not KIRA... I'm Shin."

"Shin?" now the Doctor's mind was racing to various conclusions. The removal of the original brain would have meant that the original intelligence and conscience gained from the past life would all be gone. So how did he come back?

"Yeah, I'm back... don't ask how- there are some things people of this world should never know."

"Hmhm," the Doctor tried to close his mouth, but failed, "hahaha."

"What's so funny?" the blue-eyed boy raised an eyebrow.

"No, no," the old man chuckled, "I just found it funny how how that pretty girl over there found the eyes I made you rather enticing."

"Uh..." Shin stared as the AI within his start _laughing_.

"That is the Doctor for you," the sentient bundle of coding stated with a slight giggle in its voice... which was quite odd for a _computer program_.

"So, it's quite amusing how I found you at your own funeral..."

"Ah, yeah..." the younger male scratched the back of his head,"I was kinda brought here against my will..."

"Brought here? By whom?" Now the Doctor had to know.

_Oh shit._

"U-uh," Shin stuttered, "That's also another thing those among the living shouldn't know. Let's just say it was an angel..."

"The living..." Dr. Archibald, "So there are things that the living beings of this world are better off not knowing..."

"Yeah – sorta," the Shinigami had to keep his secrets for the better of mankind, "How'd you know how to find me here?"

"It was my intuition," the old researcher began to chuckle once again, "just as a father has for his son."

Angel: Reference to Ichigo, who's name means "He Who Protects", kind of like a guardian angel.

* * *

Aoi stared at the silver-haired male, not even paying attention to those who made speeches for her deceased love.

Her heart had skipped a few beats when he suddenly grabbed her hand without warning, and the way he held it... it was so kind and gentle-like. She was so bewitched by the fact that he had touched her hand that she didn't notice him run off until he was already talking to a man in the distance.

She scrutinized his every move, hoping to catch some kind of recognizable action or habit.

Then she caught it.

He shifted his weight to his left foot, left hand quietly slipping into his left pocket, and his right hand rising up to scratch the back of his head.

Aoi knew these movements very well.

These were the actions of the man she... loved the most.

Her mind was utterly confused and jumbled as she tried to figure out what was going on. This man – no, this mystery – had come out of the blue and acted like her Shin. Aoi was now determined to find any other feature or some kind of thing that only Shin would do. She waited patiently, as a lioness in the tall grass waiting to identify her prey.

Then he made another movement.

He took on a look of one who was pondering over some matter, left hand on his hip, right fist coming up to his mouth with the index finger resting on his bottom lip, and feet spread evenly apart from each other head resting forward ever so slightly.

Her heart was getting more and more frantic as the movements become more familiar for her to realize. She strained to hear his voice.

"...How'd you know how to find me here?" the blue-eyed one asked the older man.

Aoi's heart just stopped. His voice was exactly the same. _Was this Shin's reincarnation?_

With just a simple action as raising up an umbrella for her, she had noticed him. And by noticing him, she had been captured by his eyes alone... thus having been drawn in, her attention was enslaved to him.

Just one more... one more action that she would hope to realized before she would commit.

If one more action didn't do it... she would swear to turn away and never look again.

He turned towards her. She just stared with an intent look to scrutinize, a slight frown appearing on her face.

He smiled... a genuine smile.

With that she completely broke down.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Shin noticed that Aoi was staring at him. It was odd, for she had no reason to stare at a stranger at him, but he was glad she was even looking at him anyway. He noticed the odd frown on her face that was directed towards him, probably a result of his awkward behavior towards a 'stranger'.

He gave her a bright, wide smile.

She started to cry.

Shin had no idea what was going on.

"You probably remind her of a little too much of someone," the Doctor intervened, "Well, you should better go on and see her."

"Wait," Shin paused for a bit, "you're just letting me go? Just like that?"

"Yes, I'm no longer convinced," the Doctor sighed.

"Convinced of what?" Shin tilted his head slightly to the side, another trait Aoi had noticed from afar.

"Well," the old man started, "I believed that you had escaped the ship under the influence of the virus that my team and I injected into you, but you show no such thing. Secondly, you show me that you yourself are fully under control. Still, the military will closely watching you within the next fifteen minutes to capture you because of the technology within your body... and the risk you may have on society. So hurry up what you have to do, and leave as quickly as possible, but I must ask you question."

"Hm?" Shin tried to act casually knowing that he and the Doctor were being observed.

"Will you not return?" A look of pleading was shown within the old scientist's eyes.

"Nah," the boy answered without hesitation, "I'm not going to live a life of being locked up and used as a weapon."

"Ok then..." the doctor began to take a step towards his taxi, "Remember, Code Name: Kira, I'm 'Father'."

"Gotcha. Seeya 'dad'."

"See you 'son'."

When the cab had driven away, people were beginning to return to the cars as the ceremonies ended. He immediately felt a tap on his shoulder. Shin turned around, surprised and almost shocked to see Aoi standing there, but he kept his cool face and just expected the unexpected. She slipped him a note and quickly disappeared within the crowd.

"Huh?" Shin opened the tiny piece of paper that was hastily written and folded. Upon the creased and crinkled surface it read:

_"Dominos Pizza_

_Akabane-bashi Train Station_

_6:30PM"_

"What!?" the male read the paper three times to make sure. Was she trying to pick him up? After he technically died and he was some 'stranger'? Did she not care for his death at all?

But from her actions during the funeral it sure didn't seem that way...

Shin knew that this was important... but currently, there was something more important.

He tracked all the hostiles with the weapons on the HUD.

* * *

Takeshi kept a close eye on the boy from a distance.

He knew something was up... Shinigami be damned. The elder man had known that this boy was standing and making contact with _his son's_ girlfriend. Dead or not, the living needed to respect the dead. He had told his wife to go home and chose to keep on the juvenile teen in sights from behind a few bushes.

Then man saw several armed soldiers in full gear close in on the silver-haired boy.

"What?" He said feebly.

Just as the armed men had made the appearance, they were all down.

"Wha-..." Takeshi could only stutter as he saw this phenomenon.

"Kurosaki Shin," Another soldier from behind a tree shouted, "You are government property and under arrest! Come quietly or we will have to restrain you!"

More soldiers moved into the area.

Kurosaki Takeshi's mouth hung open in shock. He couldn't believe it. His son was alive? That boy who just took down seven weaponed soldiers in just a split second was his son? What was with the appearance?

And what was this whole 'government property' business all about?

The father's eyes furrowed. This was an outrage. To think that his son's body would be stolen by his own government for some kind of dealing!

Just as he was about to move in to stop the fighting, Shin disappeared into thin air, leaving the soldiers and himself confused. He looked towards the road.

Shin was running down the street at an incredible pace.

* * *

"This is Alpha One, reporting to U.S.S Abram; requesting Dr. Archibald."

"This is Abram-HQ, connecting you to the Doc."

"Ahem, what is it?" an old man's voice was heard through the radio.

"This is Alpha One and Three, backed by Bravo Two and Four, and Delta Team."

"Okay, what is your status?" the doctor's voice sounded weary.

"Pursuing Tango (Target) in an armed vehicle... How fast did you make the subject able to go?"

"Huh?" the doctor on the other line rubbed his nose, "I think it was about 80 KPH (50 MPH) as average running speed... why?"

"Tango is... er... well..."

"Well? Spit it out son! What is it?"

"I... I can't explain... it's like he's warping..."

"Huh?" the doctor pressed his ear closer to the receiver end to make sure his ears would pick up the sound clearly.

"I said he's warping... like... one moment he's there, then the next moment hes another eighteen meters (20 yards) ahead of us!"

"What?" Dr. Archibald tried to figure out what was going on. _Damn._ This must have been another 'something that human beings weren't supposed to know' kind of thing.

"How do we catch him?"

"Er... you can't."

"Sir?"

"The DNA must be evolving to give him the edge on speed."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Call off the mission... His objective doesn't seem to harming civilians or military at this point. The subject is safe for now. I'll request a few detectives to investigate within the Tokyo area."

"...

...Roger, confirming mission orders," Alpha One switched the transmission frequency to the cars, "Men, we're falling back. Return to HQ."

"Ryokai (Roger)."

Dr. Archibald sighed as the transmission ended. He really hoped this problem would somehow solve itself.

Alpha One stared at the subject who had now stopped moving. Although he was ordered to return, he kept looking at the target. He gasped in sudden surprise.

In the blink of an eye, the target had vanished from his vision.

* * *

"Hmm... they were _annoying_..."

"You could call them hindrances," KIRA suggested.

"Hn," Shin gave a smirked reply, "I guess, but they were only doing their job."

"I believe so. Right now it is currently 17:45 (5:45) according to Tokyo's servers. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"In the meantime?" Shin pondered for a bit, "Eh, I guess I'll go shopping... er well more like shoplifting."

"Committing a crime with your gifted powers already?"

"Er, well," Kira tried to show he wasn't just committing a crime out of self-pleasure, "the money that Ichigo-jii left me in my pocket shouldn't be that much. It's not even mine so I shouldn't spend it too freely. And even then, I'm supposed to meet up with Aoi, remember? I have until 6:15... gotta show up early."

The sentient program remained silent, hacking and searching for more information on Shin's pursuit.

Shin walked down the streets of the lively city, scanning through the history as provided by KIRA.

* * *

Unlike his grandfather's time, technology had become a major part of life. It was the year 2089 A.D., and people were receiving benefits from all kinds of advanced research developments. The only difference was, with Japan being a rather small country with little land, the population density was high and the people had lost living space. The chances of pollution were high, so cars, except for large transportation units like buses, had been removed from the streets all together. The only vehicles that anyone saw around was all controlled by the government, and used for purposes such as garbage removal or special events, with funerals being one of them.

Nowadays, you'd have to be very rich to own a car anyway.

Anyway, Shin walked around as he saw vast skyscrapers connected together through hallway units that allowed people to walk from building to building without having to really get out and walk through the streets. This interconnection of skyscrapers allowed the tall buildings to go higher, allowing people to build more apartments – therefore creating more living space. Things near the bottom remained the same. It was the upper world of cities that changed, different from the world of old at the bottom.

To prevent the structures from collapsing or collecting too much pollutants within the air, the Japanese Government reinstated the LCR, the Lower City Renovation program in 2072, as they started and discontinued in 2054 and 2061. It is still in effect now to ensure the healthy living of the future citizens of Japan.

Medical technology has skyrocketed, with the American's and Japanese being at the top. This technology was thanks to the Dual Alliance War in 2037, which nearly broke out to being WWIII, but thankfully, it did not. In this special war, the two major nations of United States and the Soviet Union entered into a conflict over a vague double agent incident. As a cause, the leaders agreed to call upon one other country with a population density less then 1,500 per kilometer. The Soviets chose North Korea, despite the conflicts of China saying the North Koreans saying that their nearby country may attack them with the support of the Soviet people. With much debate on an ally, the American politicians and military strategists chose Japan.

Regardless of whoever was at fault for starting the war, the American government could have backed down and given in to the Soviet's demands. However, the U.S. Military forces desired to test a three new weapons... and very badly.

This was the perfect chance.

Within four months after the incident, the U.S. Army sent in its naval fleet to eastern Japan with about 1,500 carriers and over twenty-five aircraft to launch per ship. One hundred destroyers were involved in the combat covering a larger ship carrying one of the three new weapons. Aside from the fifteen thousand from the main force, five hundred more carriers went to the front lines to deploy the second weapon-type. The third weapon-type was deployed by the marines on foot.

The second weapon type was deployed on sea to land immediately at exactly 12:34 (PM), June 3rd – a group consisting of 26 new A.M.s, Armed Mechs. However, due to poor design and power failure, the machines failed and the plan to use them was aborted almost immediately after deployment in combat. It stayed that way after the war.

The first weapon, a large laser-power prototype, on the larger ship was fully operational and ready at 12:47, and was fired within five minutes after safety lock release at 12:55. The first shot wiped out a vast amount of the North Korean and Soviet Union defense line. It fired a second round at 12:59 after a rushed charge, and was also successful. In the third attempt to fire, the weapon overheated and ship experienced a meltdown and explosion at exactly 13:02 (1:02 PM), wiping out all allied ships within a 15 kilometer range, sinking all destroyers and six carriers, and leaving four nonoperational.

At this point, most of the enemy defensive line and the Japanese persisted and broke through the disarrayed ships. The United States Navy quickly filled in behind them to make sure the Soviets and North Koreans could not recover the gap. At 13:15 (1:15 PM) the entire enemy defensive line was sunk. On land, many of the allied of the Americans and Japanese struggled to gain a hold of a stronghold on enemy territory.

However, at 13:32 (1:32 PM), the South Koreans passed the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), breaking the the cease-fire agreement made by the U.N. and the Soviets on July 27th, 1953 as a result of armistice between the two halves of the nation. This action caused North Korea to panic and split its forces to battle on two fronts. As a cause of hastily recruited members for each front, the two forces of the North fell, both the U.S. and South Korea took over about four hours, ending the conflict of North Korea at precisely 17:45 (5:45 PM).

With Soviet territory, the Marines had successfully armed fifty-two VEZ (Virus Ebola Zaire) bombs, codenamed 'Mr. V', containing the feared Ebola virus of the strain that broke out in Zaire and Sudan in 1976, across major sites of Russia at 18:01 (6:01 PM), avoiding European and Chinese territory. Horrified that this would bring destruction upon the entire nation, the leaders of the USSR made a drastic attempt to surrender. Upon receiving the request, the nations of the United States and Japan officially won the war at 19:17 (7:17 PM).

The third weapon type was immediately disarmed and ordered to be destroyed upon return to U.S. territory. However, the bomb stationed near Moscow had malfunctioned, exploding and infecting the nearby soldiers. Of course, this was a developed virus, thus the soldiers died within a painful forty-eight hours. Within that time, the virus had quickly spread to the nearby city.

This created panic, and experts dropped a light ten-megaton nuke (light by future's current standards) and several bombs around it on 03:30 (AM), June 7th, to ensure no human being would survive to spread the disease. However, due to lack of thorough planning, animals that had survived the radiation from the fallout (nuclear radiation debris/dust fallen from mushroom cloud caused by explosion) had escaped with a now-mutated virus. After that, American and other scientists of the world entered the land to combat and prevent the uninfected from becoming infected. One scientist, graduated and teaching at Yale University, had emerged as a DNA biologist.

He assembled a team to study with him to create a successful vaccine for the mutated viral DNA, and successfully created one within just two months after the issued assignment. Although offered a position within the governmental studies of diseases and illnesses, the professor turned down the offer and went into the black market instead, becoming rather rich with selling his work. His contributions, although great and beneficial to society, had ceased to come, leaving it up to scientists and doctors after him to continue the legacy.

The man was then later hired by the U.S. government once again in May 2089 at the humble age of 65, to do work on a totally confidential project.

This old scientist went by the name of Dr. Archibald, or the Doctor, for short.

He was the mastermind behind the creation of KIRA and the 'ultimate cyborg body' and the creation of many biological augmentations for the military and its society.

* * *

Shin stopped in front of the station.

It was exactly 6:15 PM, and patiently wandered around the area waiting for his love to arrive.

* * *

A/N: Was the history lesson boring for you? Or did it provide some insight to the current world of the Bleach universe? Please review!

PS – Don't you hate how I always end in some kind of hanger?


	9. ACT 01: GWS CH08

Hahaha, here is the fateful chapter of the true reunion between those who have been destin- oh whatever, just read and find out for yourself...

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_Shin stopped in front of the station._

_It was exactly 6:15 PM, and patiently wandered around the area waiting for his love to arrive._

* * *

It was 5:30 PM, according her clock.

Aoi had taken a shower, redid her hair and prepared to go out. She figured if this really Shin, then he would show up early, meaning he must have meandered around waiting for her after the funeral... which meant he hadn't changed his clothing. So, Aoi decided to wear something to match, hopefully so that she wouldn't be the only one out of place when they met.

The girl put on her dress and quietly walked down the stairs as quickly as possible.

"Aoi?"

She panicked, her mother had noticed.

"Aoi, is that you? Where are you going?" Her mother's voice echoed from the kitchen.

"U-uh... I'm taking a walk..." the sixteen year old quickly tried to rush out.

"And to where may you be going young lady?" her father's deep voice called from the living room, his the back of his head showing from behind the sofa.

"Wherever I feel like going," the girl huffed. With that she slammed the door and ran down the street.

"Dear," Kimiko called to her husband, "don't you think our daughter is a bit-"

"Leaver her be," Satoru cut his wife off, "she needs some time to herself, especially after her boyfriends death."

"But she-"

"I'm pretty sure you would be upset if I died, wouldn't you?"

"Oh honey, don't _say that!_ If you say _that_ now..."

Satoru sighed and pinched his nose. Now his wife was all moody and he was stuck in the house with her... alone.

But more importantly, he was thinking of that suspicious looking boy that stood next to his daughter today.

* * *

Takeshi stumbled into the house, nearly running into and knocking over his wife.

"Dear! M-Manami!"

"H-honey! What's wrong?" His wife had a concerned look cast over her face as she tried to help her husband from the ground.

"Y-you won't believe what I have to say!"

"What is it?"

"I-it's about..."

* * *

Shin stood in front of the shop, away from the rain. He didn't go inside though; he wanted to wait for Aoi.

It was nearing the time of appointment, but she still hadn't arrived yet. So he scanned the area in hopes of finding her.

Since he was currently in Akabane-bashi, their houses were in the north of the Western Tokyo District, in an area just off of Ikebukuro, meaning the girl would have to take the subway and go south and then go east. So considering the Domino's Pizza was facing south, he would have to look to the right. And that's exactly what he did.

After a few minutes of looking in that direction, at about 18:29 (6:29 PM) he spotted the pink hair that made her stand out from the crowd... and her white dress that made her even more noticeable. Shin was only able to stare with his mouth hanging open at that dress. Didn't she wear it to a dance? And why that dress?

He remembered that she wore it when they went _together_.

This was really bothering him. She was wearing something nice, but something that only _he_ had noticed before and matched him-

Shin caught himself in his line of thinking.

It matched what he was wearing right now.

"Match?" he wondered aloud and stared at himself, and then back at Aoi... then back at himself. How had she been able to predict his actions so easily?

_This is bad, _Shin thought, _she's catching on to me. I'm supposed to be dead and she's not supposed to really like me who is playing 'the stranger'._

"Well put," KIRA stated within his mind, "Well, thinking when you act so much like yourself its only reasonable that she would chase after you."

"Oh," Shin just blatantly said out loud. He quickly made the resolution to try and make some subtle changes to his behavior... even though it may turn out to be extremely difficult. "You're gonna help me... right?" He was hoping the sentient being within his mind would say 'yes'.

"Maybe, heheh."

"You suck."

"Tangos."

With that Shin immediately went into 'alert' mode and scanned the crowd with his HUD. He noticed three men oddly closing in on the white-clothed beauty. His fists tightened as he made his way towards her.

* * *

Kin and her little coterie of friends trailed closely behind their best friend... or target.

It was at about 5:40 PM when she was nearly at Aoi's house, when she noticed that her pink-haired friend was all dressed up and leaving the house. It had been days before the blue-eyed girl had left the house, let alone her room, and now she was heading out! Kin couldn't believe it... and had the irresistible urge to follow and spy on her friend. In doing so, she called up their group of friends, which included herself, Kazuhiko, Masao, Harumi, Aoi, and Shin. However without the brown-haired boy, the group had 'disbanded' for a while to recollect their senses.

At school, they all were a part of their very own 'clique' and hung out at school, doing everything together. The shooting had ruined everything.

At the moment, Masao, being the voice of reason, tried to dissuade the group from such foolish acts, but his curiosity won him over. Harumi was shy, but not as shy as Aoi. She still trailed behind everyone though. Kazuhiko and Kin were at the forefront of the group, only a few yards away in hopes of being able to not lose their friend. However, that was nearly impossible. The girl was dressed in white on such a gloomy day, and it contrasted with her hair, making her stand out from the rest of the people around her. Even the white umbrella she was holding stood out.

Then Kazuhiko suddenly stopped them.

"Shit," he gasped.

"What?" Kin tried to move forward, but his hand held her back. She looked at his pointing finger and turned her head to see where it was that he was pointing.

"Oh my god," Kin brought a hand to her mouth.

She saw three teenage thugs close in on her best friend.

* * *

Aoi was trying to avoid the three older boys that were trailing her very closely. Being so shy, she didn't have the voice to tell them to back away, nor did she have the guts to start running, afraid that they would lash out to grab her if she moved erratically. So she did her best to keep her composure and keep walking towards the pizza shop, only looking forward.

She didn't see the sapphire-eyed male though.

Suddenly, she heard one of the older teens speak to her.

"Hey, you wanna come with me to Karaokeee?" he smelled of cigarettes, even though it was stated as contraband for all high-schoolers and even college students in 2012. Aoi knew her history.

"Yeah, you're so hoottt," the second guy's breath gave off a hint of alcohol in his breath, making her tighten her facial complexion a little as his slurred words filled the air.

"Shuddup, man. You're a retard," the third didn't seem as bad as the others, but gave a look of evil desire that made the girl think twice. "You're so bad at picking up girls."

She definitely thought they were _all_ retards.

"Hey, I asked you a question ladyyy..." The guy was beginning to get on her nerves. She ignored him and kept walking onwards. She was almost there now. Ten meters and she would be there. "Hey!"

He grabbed her hand, making her drop her umbrella in surprise.

"Look at me when I speak to you _**bitch!**_" The first thug raised his left hand to smack her and brought it down.

Aoi quickly shut her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable blow to come.

* * *

"Oh my god."

Kin saw the man grab Aoi's hand and yell in her face. She tried to run towards her friend in hopes of saving her, but Kazuhiko was still holding her back... and Masao wasn't going to run in – he was a wuss.

"Wait..." Kazuhiko squinted his eyes to get a better look, "who's that?"

"W-who's who?" Harumi looked at the scene.

They all looked.

* * *

"What the?" the first teenager tried to bring his hand down, but it wouldn't budge. Just as he turned to see the offender, he felt a bone-shattering grip on his wrist. "_**AAAAHHH!**_" The delinquent grabbed his arm in pain, dropping to the ground.

* * *

Aoi still had her eyes closed when she heard the blood-curling scream that filled the air.

She could her the people in the crowd quickly moving away from her. She opened her eyes and let out a gasp as her heart skipped a few beats, feeling a warm arm around her shoulders.

* * *

"**You bastards**," a cold and heartless voice filled the area, giving the aura of a merciless killer intent.

"W-who is this guy!?" the third thug had watched as an unidentified person come in and take out his aniki (Senior / Elder Brother) just by squeezing his arm. From what he could tell, the male was younger then them both, but definitely stronger. He whipped out his pocket knife. "S-son of a bitch!"

The said attacker pulled out a cell phone, and began to dial.

"Hello, I'm going to need an ambulance..."

"Hoh? Calling for your own death bed huh?"

"Location? In Akabane-boshi, next to the Domino's Pizza."

"You're in for it biatch."

"How many?" the attacker's voice changed to that of questioning. The thugs stared. "Uh..." their offender began to count them. "One... two..."

"Huuuh?" The third thug raised an eyebrow in disbelief and shock.

"Three."

"You asshole!"

"Yeaahhh," the second man tried to stand, but was still drunk, swaying from side to side. "Whathe hellzyoo dooin? Huh?" He also took out a knife and charged.

* * *

Shin was in absolute rage, despite his emotionless face at the moment. The only hint of anger was that his eyebrows had slightly lowered, but he did his best to keep his anger in check.

The HUD immediately locked onto the two remaining men as a three-dimensional square with quadrants appeared on both. The second was charging him as the other stayed back. He steeled himself as the knife came and with a lightning reaction, he gripped the hand and bent in forwards...

... in the opposite direction the man was running. A sickening crack and pop could be heard as the wrist broke and dislocated itself from the momentum.

* * *

"Huh?" the drunk thug looked at his hand that was currently in his enemy's hold. "That huurrtss."

"H-holy shit!" the third male slowly backed away, clearly afraid of the attacker.

"Mmmyyy haanddd. It huur-"

A foot came at blinding speed and blew his head back.

* * *

Shin kicked the guy in the face, effectively breaking his neck as the kick abruptly forced his head backwards.

Two down, one to go.

* * *

Masao scrutinized the movements of the man who had come in and supposedly saved Aoi's life.

He recognized those moves from somewhere, though with not as much force. Now that the crowd had backed away from the fight and was watching with a distance, it was easier to see their friend's savior. The senior-to-be definitely knew these moves from somewhere.

* * *

"S-s-stopp! I got a knife!"

Shin just merely stared with a freezing glare, gripping Aoi closer to him.

He wasn't going to do anything as long as the thug didn't try anything funny.

"Hey!" They heard a voice from the crowd, forcing the three remaining people look to their left towards the street. A police officer was making his way towards the scene. "What's going on here!?"

Shin and Aoi remained silent.

"T-this guy here!" the remaining teenager pointed at the silver-haired boy who gripped Aoi even closer at this point. "M-my bros and I were trying to pick up this girl and h-he just showed up and beating us!"

The crowd began to boo, and someone even threw an empty soda can at the delinquent.

"And you both have the right to use weapons in public?"

"U-uh..." the older boy tried to save himself, "S-self defense man! Y-yeah!" He raised his fist in the air for effect.

"That's it, this is nonsense! You're all coming to the police station with me!" The officer stepped forward and bent down to the thug that was knocked out to handcuff him.

Right then, the standing male made a downward stab at the officer's exposed back.

Shin immediately ran forward, grabbed the teen's hand and twisted it while pulling him forward. Using that surprise-attack and momentum to his advantage, the silver-haired boy punched the older guy in the face, breaking his nose and splattering blood everywhere.

"Tha-" the police officer tried to thank the boy who saved him, but felt something tug at his side. His gun was gone.

"Sorry!" Shin used his leg to push the police officer's rear to the side, making the man fall to the ground forward.

A gunshot went into the air.

* * *

When the policeman had shown up, the four teenagers had felt relieved.

However, that was only the beginning of their troubles.

The idiot had forgotten to order the remaining teenager to drop his weapon, and almost got knifed in the back, but was saved by Aoi's savior as well.

"The fool," Kazuhiko sputtered out, trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny you idiot!?" Kin puffed up.

"Oh no!" Harumi cried out.

"What?" they all turned to look again, seeing the first delinquent that was knocked out with the officer's gun in his hands.

* * *

The gunshot had barely missed his face.

Shin's cheek was now bleeding, but the viral DNA within him was already at work. The cheek steamed for a bit, then the wound closed.

"Alright, _**kid**_." The first man with the broken wrist stood up, pointing the gun at him. "You really _**pissed**_ me off."

Shin said nothing, keeping his HUD locked-on.

The officer slowly crawled away, making sure not to make any quick movements to draw the offender's attention.

"Kid, you must have guts. I mean real guts, I'll give you that. But to think you would actually come and mess with _me_ of all people is a big mistake."

"So," Shin stared with an emotionless face still, "What of it?"

"W-what of it!?" The first thug's face furrowed as he became enraged in disbelief. "_**Huh?**_ Did I hear ya right? **You want a piece of this you piece of **_**shit!?**_"

He raised the gun into the air and fired three shots in succession. Shin saw his chance.

The cyborg immediately charged after the third shot, giving the offender no chance to counterattack, and used his right foot to kick away the offender's left one, making the thug loose his balance. Right after that, the blue-eyed soldier grabbed the man's left shoulder with his left hand and pulled, bring him down to take advantage of the enemy's lost balance. In succession with this, Shin placed his right kneed between the shoulder blades to prevent his prey from getting back up.

He instantly grabbed the older teenager's forehead with his left hand so that the guy was now forced to look at him from his hands and knees while having to painfully turn his neck to look backwards into towards the sky.

Shin raised his right hand and straightened his fingers as he jabbed at the neck.

* * *

"Holy shit, kid," the officer rubbed his poor nose. He had to admit, the kid was a life saver, but when the teenager had shoved him aside he did a face-plant and broke his nose. "Got to admit, you're a heck of a fighter."

"Yeah, but from this report he took a lot of risks running in like that," the Chief smirked, "But it takes guts. You ever thinkin' of joining the force?"

Shin shook his head as he sat, waiting in the chair next to the pink haired girl...

... the four others that had randomly come along. He mentally smacked himself. How could he have been so stupid to have let this happen? And not only that, but he didn't even notice his old friends from school.

_Why didn't you tell me? _Shin demanded at the AI.

"Because they were not enemies. Is there a reason for me to tell you about them?"

_You really, really suck._

Shin took a quick glance at the time displayed on his HUD. It read 19:06 (7:06 PM).

"Since you were all somehow involved, whether being a witness or a victim or in actual... _combat_," the Chief glared at Shin, "I'm going to have to ask some questions, now don't worry – you won't get in trouble.

You first." He stood in front of Shin, "What's your name?"

"Kamiwa Kira," the boy bluntly replied, his voice more emotionless than a doll.

"Uh... _god of peace_ huh? Heh," the Chief of police gave a laugh, "More like god of whooping and saving people's _asses_."

The poor officer with the broken nose pouted and let out a feeble groan.

"What age are you?"

Shin thought about that one. Technically, he was sixteen, but his body's lifespan had drastically increased and so did his appearance, although it was a little bit. He decided to stick with his real age.

"Sixteen."

"What school do you go to?"

The boy also had to think about that one.

"I'm home-schooled."

"Home schooled? By whom?"

"My father- he travels abroad. He happened to stop by in Japan because of my friend."

"Smooth, Shin," KIRA complimented, "You must have planned this out beforehand. Too bad I wasn't paying attention."

_Can it, robot._

The offended program stayed silent.

Aoi looked down at her hands. So he wasn't her beloved Shin.

"Huh, you look Japanese though..."

"It's because I was adopted."

"Oh," the Chief replied, "makes sense..."

Suddenly, the door burst open as a deranged looking couple ran in through the entrance, alerting every cop within the vicinity.

"Where's my Aoi-chan! Honey! I'm here to save my daughter!" Her crazy-looking mother shouted in calvary as everyone's attention was drawn towards them.

"Kimiko! Calm down! All the officers are staring!"

"I don't care! Where's my daughter!"

"Uh, ma'am," the Chief tried to keep the situation under control. "P-please calm down, we nee-"

"I will not calm down until I see my dau- Oh, there you are honey!"

The said child brought a hand to her face. Her mother was embarrassing her in front of all these people... especially the one next to her.

The couple pushed their way towards their daughter. It was then that Satoru noticed the boy from the funeral. He immediately became enraged as his fatherly instincts took over.

"You! It was you that caused all this trouble!" He grabbed Shin by the collar and pulled him out of the seat.

Shin grabbed the man's wrists and began to squeeze as a warning signal. Even more angry then before that such a younger one would challenge his authority, he proceeded to punch the boy in the face.

"Uh... uh..." both the Chief and his subordinate stared in complete wonder of how to solve this. They decided to intervene. The chief pulled them apart as the Lieutenant held the angered man back.

"He's not the offender," the Lieutenant tried to explain. "He's-"

"What are you talking about!" Satoru tried to rush as his wife just stared trying to think of something to say. "He must be-"

"_**HE'S NOT!**_" a female voice shouted at the top of her lungs.

The room immediately quieted down as both parents stared at their daughter, who was now panting from the exerted force.

"He's not... He saved my life..." tears started to roll down. She bolted towards the door and ran out, too ashamed of her parents to look at 'Kira'.

"We tried to tell you..." the Chief began, "...he actually severely hospitalized three thugs just to save your daughter... and one of _my_ officers, facing the threat of being stabbed, shot, and nearly killed."

The man stared in disbelief.

He lowered his head down at the ground in shame. He had personally accused, brutalized, and threatened the _man_ who had went out of his way to save his daughter.

Shin got up out of the chair, and brushed himself off. As the people in the room silently stared at him, he gave a look of sadness at Aoi's father and left the room to chase after his loved one.

* * *

AN: Oh man, that was the longest chapter I've ever written... so far (I think). Heheh. So what are you guys thinkin' about things so far? Is it dramatic? Flowing well? Poor?

SEND IN REVIEWS!! Virilis demands it.


	10. ACT 01: GWS CH09

OH THE SUSPENSE!! And the Love read and enjoy... and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_The man stared in disbelief._

_He lowered his head down at the ground in shame. He had personally accused, brutalized, and threatened the _man_ who had went out of his way to save his daughter._

_Shin got up out of the chair, and brushed himself off. As the people in the room silently stared at him, he gave a look of sadness at Aoi's father and left the room to chase after his loved one._

* * *

"Hey!" Shin looked around for the Aoi's figure. Searching the area with his eyes, he really couldn't see anyone around. It was pouring rain, dark and incredibly difficult to see. His eyes had increased the gamma lighting features, making it brighter, but he still couldn't see her.

"You could use the heat-vision," a familiar voice within his head rang.

"He-heat?" the metal-brained boy smacked his forehead. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier!? It would have help to find someone in this cold rain."

"You told me to be quiet remember?" the AI chuckled, knowing this was getting on the cyborg's nerves.

"Grgh, you know... you've been getting less and less computer-like."

"I'm learning."

Shin's eyes immediately flickered as the color's shifted to a brighter stage. They glowed in the dark as the heat became visible to Shin's eyes, and the variances of heat within objects. He could tell distance, size, and location so easily now. All he had to do was search for a female figure that was probably about thirty meters away at this point.

He found her, running north towards...

_Oh fucknuggets._

"Fucknuggets?" KIRA asked, "What's a fucknugget?"

* * *

Aoi had no idea where she was running. All she knew was that if she ran in her current direction, she would eventually reach home, or some place away from her parents at this current moment...

... and away from Kira.

She was so ashamed of her parents, herself, and her life.

So far all that's happened was so embarrassing and she wanted to just run away... which was what she was doing right now.

The pink-haired girl slipped and collapsed to the ground in a puddle.

* * *

"Hmm?" KIRA wondered why Shin was running so hard. "Why are you rushing? I understand you're worried and all..."

"You idiot!" Do you have any idea where we are!?" Shin shouted; unknown to other people, he looked as if was talking to himself.

"Calm down and speak within your head," the AI was beginning to get worried.

_The meeting spot was in Akabane-boshi, which is southeast of her house. The police station headquarters that we got transferred closest to home is just north of Shibuya! Northwest of the pizza place!_

"So?" the program questioned, "What of it?"

_That means she has to pass through Shinjuku!_

"Shinjuku? Shinjuku... Shinjuku..." the AI scanned the available information on said special ward. "Oh... she would have to take the train to go home, right? Why pass through there? She could just take a chain link of buses..."

_It saves time and money, and Shinjuku is one of the busiest train-hubs in Tokyo, so that means she probably took one train to get there in the time I was searching for her to get there. Which means by the time I get there, she will already be on the _another_ train._

"If she's already in the train... she is safe, correct?"

_No, Kabukicho, a section of Shinjuku, is a major red-light district in Japan. Over the last thirty years that place has become more filled with rapists and what not! And unfortunately that's where most of the major train-stations are... which is where the rapists like to be! Them and their filthy passenger-groping fetish! __**Grr!**_

"Oh this could be a problem."

"It is a problem!"

* * *

Aoi quickly purchased her ticket and stood, waiting for the next train to arrive, oblivious of her surroundings.

She was hot, sweaty, and and her white dress was wet, sticking to her skin.

The blue-eyed, pink-haired girl clutched her white, leather purse tightly. She just wanted to go home, badly.

Little did she know of the presence of several men that where watching her with their ravenous eyes.

* * *

"Please let me make it on time!" Shin cried. He resorted to using Shunpo.

* * *

A little boy held his 'Mighty X' action figure and waved it in the air, making 'whooshing' noises and lazer effects.

"Pew! Pew! Look mommy!" He giggled as his mother hugged him and ruffled his hair. "Hahahaha. Hah?"

His eyes went big as a older, bigger boy flashed to the other side of the room.

"Woah! Look mommy the real Mr. X!" He pointed.

"Hmm? Shinta-kun, you shouldn't make jokes like that," his mother let out a small little laugh.

The boy looked again and frowned. The silver haired boy was gone in another flash.

* * *

People stood in line, letting the machine read their tickets as it registered and opened the gates for those who had one to walk through.

As the gates opened, a black flash with a hint of silver blurred through the gates.

"What the?"

Many of the men and women standing in line stood, stunned by the sight. The gates began to close.

"Aouah!" a man tried to make it through before they closed completely.

* * *

Shin slipped into the crowd, searching for Aoi's signature pink hair and her white dress.

He spotted her, but she was too far away... and it was definitely too crowded for him to use shunpo without being noticed. The boy would have to wait to get into the train.

* * *

Aoi felt a familiar dread wash over her as people packed into the train that had arrived.

As people around her began to close in, the place was fearfully overcrowded. Her eyes darted from person to person, weary of male predators that may come to attack her like they did before.

* * *

"Please, move!" Shin used his inhumane strength to push, shove, and use whatever means necessary to move towards the front of the train. Despite people's complaints and groans, he persevered, making progress.

He spotted her.

She had the look a frightened person, gripping her purse so tightly that her fingers had gone pale.

_Hold on, I'm coming._

* * *

The fatigued girl looked from side to side, as she was forced to face the window.

Then her eyes picked up a familiar silvery shine within the crowd.

"K-Kira! Ki-hah?" her voice suddenly jumped a few levels, changing in pitch from surprise.

Someone had just grabbed her rear and squeezed.

* * *

Shin heard her call his name, and tried to give a smile until he noticed the odd change in her voice.

A blue outline of a man appeared on his HUD, allowing him to see through the crowd in the train. Then he saw the hand of the man grab her mouth and shut it closed, making her unable to call out. He continued to touch freely with his other hand. Shin's eyebrows furrowed as anger took over once again.

"Man, bad things are happening to you today," KIRA said within his mind, irking the boy, "You must have some pretty shitty luck."

"You, my friend, are getting on my nerves and ruining my concentration," Shin muttered, "Help me out here."

"Got it."

An instant distance meter and a suggested curved line came up on his HUD, giving him the fastest route to her. He took his chances and swiftly moved between people. Due to his heightened senses and reflexes, he was able to avoid bumping into passengers and losing momentum. Shin had traveled twenty feet in a crowded train within 6.32 seconds.

The silver-haired teenager shoved his way between the man and the girl, forcing the molester to fall back.

He glared.

* * *

The blue-eyed girl felt that this was it. Her life was officially over.

She had been nearly killed, ashamed by her family, and was about to be raped in a train in front of many people.

Then she felt a violent push, and the feeling of the man's hands suddenly disappeared from her body. She made the effort to turn around and see who had possibly saved her. The girl hoped it wasn't another offender.

Aoi's face bumped into a hard muscled back, the black cloth meeting her cheek.

"E-eh?" She looked up and saw her savior's neck, and the silver hair contrasting against the dark material.

The molester was trying to get away from Kira, who was now standing between her and many other men with lustful eyes. She sighed in thankfulness that the person who saved her life multiple times kept showing up in dire situations.

She slipped her arms around his chest from behind.

* * *

"Eh?" Shin looked down as he saw two familiar hands make their way around his upper midsection and squeeze. He was receiving a hug from behind from Aoi! "U-uh..." A blush came up on his face as he made the major effort to keep up his scary glare in front of the opposing men.

Seeing she was 'taken', they backed off, and the boy sighed.

He looked behind himself and saw a cute face look up at him, her cheeks crimson from embarrassment of the situation. Shin smiled a warm smile to comfort her.

"A-ano, Kira-kun..." She tried to talk without stuttering to the best of her ability.

"Hm?" He kept his smile, wrapping his hands around hers, making her gasp a little. It was not unnoticed.

"W-w-why d-did you u-u-uh..." Aoi kept trying to form understandable words, "a-ah..."

"Come here?" Shin let out a slight laugh, "To rescue you of course!"

He gave a wide smile.

* * *

A man was making his way through the crowded train.

His large overcoat and hat hid his face, perfect for his aim. Despite his suspicious look, the people around him did not seem to care. He didn't care either. All he cared about was completing his assignment... which was to get to the biological weapon cyborg: KIRA. And in doing so, he would complete Phase One, and begin Phase Two, making contact. After that...

... he would begin Phase Three.

* * *

"To rescue you of course!"

Aoi saw Kira's wide smile that looked so much like Shin's and let a tear fall as she too, was unable to hold back and smiled.

She pressed her entire body to his back, and he went a little rigid.

* * *

"Guh!" Shin's back went as straight as a billboard as he felt Aoi's 'assets' press against him.

"Lucky bastard," KIRA whined, "Too bad we sentient programs can't feel anything. I'm sooo enviouussss."

_S-shuttt upppp._

"You're so into it you can't even talk- I mean think! Ha!"

Shin noticed a rather suspicious looking man whose face was covered make his way toward the boy. He steeled himself, as it might be a military operations specialist ready to kill him on sight. He would protect the girl behind him no matter what.

After a few long seconds, the man stopped in front of the silver-haired boy.

The sixteen year-old male braced himself: for anything. Whether it be a fist, knife, tazer, or even a gun, he would take it. He wouldn't run away, especially with Aoi behind him.

The man reached into a coat pocket.

_A gun?_

Unexpectedly the man pulled out an envelope... and handed it too him.

Slowly, Shin grasped the edges of the paper and pulled. The man let go, then gave him a cell phone. Then he left as quickly as he had come.

* * *

_Phase Three: 'Get my ass outta there', complete. Heh._

* * *

The unannounced couple left the train station as fast as they possibly could, and eventually made their way unto a familiar street.

Shin's house was the second one on the block. He noticed that Aoi's eyes had glazed over it a few times as they were walking past it. It was hard for him to not look as well; it was _his_ home after all. It had so many memories in it. His family, his friends, and all the times they spent together were in that house. His parents were probably in there right now thinking of him and hoping that his soul had safely made it to 'heaven'. He gave a mental smirk at that thought. Ironically he never got there, or anywhere near it for that matter.

They made it to Aoi's front door, soaking wet from the rain that had yet to stop.

Just as the girl was about to put her hand on the scanner to open the door, she stopped.

"I don't want to do this..." her voice sounded pitiful. She stared at the door, nearly lifeless as a rag doll.

Shin looked at the back of her head, reaching out to touch her hair when he heard a beeping alert. Unknown to the pink-haired female, Shin snapped his head around to see a monster far, far away. Despite its distance, he was still alarmed that such a monster existed.

What is that? The Kenseigan zoomed in on it. As described by Ichigo's detailed stories, the newly formed Shinigami could only guess that it was a hollow preying on poor innocent souls in its areas. Just as he was beginning to think of a way to get them both away to a safe place, Shin saw a death god come from behind the buildings and slay the horrendous beast into oblivion. He looked back at Aoi, who, shockingly to him, was leaning against his chest.

"I-I know it's awkward," the blue-eyed girl whispered, "But please f-follow me."

"Eh?" Shin wondered as Aoi grabbed his hand and pulled them both away from the house and into the street. "Where are we going?"

"Lo..."

"Lo?" the silver-haired boy wondered, "Where's that?"

"L-lov..."

"Lov..." The boy stopped all movement for a moment, forcing Aoi to stop in her tracks. "Lov?"

"L-love hotel..." Her face was completely red, even though it was hard to see in the dark rain.

"Ah-" Shin's draw dropped and his knees went weak. _Love hotel!?_

"I-I didn't mean..." the girl covered her face with her hands, trying not to look at the boy, "n-not for... y-you know..."

"_T-that_, huh?" Shin sighed, "I-I'm just guessing this is to get away from your parent's right? Right?"

"Y-yes!" She quickly turned away.

"Er, well you know," Shin instinctively put on a very masculine and attractive voice, walking up to and straight behind the pink-haired beauty, whispering in her ear ever so gently, "We could... do _it._"

"_**Eep!**_" Aoi fell to the ground, fainted.

* * *

"U-uhh?" Aoi woke up from her deep slumber, looking around. The place she was in was not her own bed. "A-re? (Huh?) Where... am I?"

She rubbed her eyes, then suddenly they were wide open. This room was familiar to her. She had come here many times when she was younger, and also recently.

It was Shin's room.

Aoi looked under the covers and noticed that she was in _Shin's_ clothing.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy..."

_What happened!? Is this a dream? Was Shin here? Did I sleep with him? Oh lord! Help me! What should I do-_

"Aoi?" Shin poked his head through the door, trying to see if his love was alright.

"_**Eek!**_" The blue-eyed damsel in distress threw a pillow... and hit 'Kira' in the face.

"O-ow..." the boy rubbed his nose, "that was unexpectedly hard..."

"Ki-Kira!" She covered herself up... with what she realized was Shin's bedsheets... which was really embarrassing.

"What?" He laughed as he made his way towards the girl, momentarily forgetting this 'wasn't his house'.

"I-I don't remember ever telling you my name..." her eyes became alert as she glared at him with fear for an answer.

"U-uh..."

Shin's eyes narrowed as he tried to think of an answer. This was bad, he needed to think of an answer... fast.

"Hello," KIRA called within his mind, "Your mom, you idiot."

_Oh yeah!_

"I-I heard the lady of this house call you that when she saw you collapsed outside. She seemed really worried," Shin gave a little laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh," Aoi sighed in relief. She was afraid her savior was actually some kind of stalker.

"Call for me or Kurosaki-san if you need anything..."

"O-okay," the girl was still a little hurt to think of anything to do with the words 'Kurosaki' or 'Shin'.

Shin closed the door and dropped his 'Kira' act. He was really getting tired of it. Deep within his heart, the deceased-living boy wished he could just come clean and admit the truth.

But he would have to leave that up to his parents and the Doctor talking downstairs.

* * *

AN: How was that one? Send in reviews guys! I look forward to what you guys think of the progression between Shin, Aoi, and their lives at the moment! REVIEW!!


	11. ACT 01: GWS CH10

Here is the next chapter, sorry for taking so long; had work and stuff to do

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_"O-okay," the girl was still a little hurt to think of anything to do with the words 'Kurosaki' or 'Shin'._

_Shin closed the door and dropped his 'Kira' act. He was really getting tired of it. Deep within his heart, the deceased-living boy wished he could just come clean and admit the truth._

_But he would have to leave that up to his parents and the Doctor talking downstairs._

* * *

Shin slowly walked down the stairs, reflecting upon his life so far.

His life was seriously messed up as it was. The sixteen-year old had lived a normal life, then was thrown into the pandemonium of death and listening to voices within his head speak to him from then on. The brown-haired boy had become a silver-haired one, and then traded his yellow eyes for glowing sapphire-blues. His strength had nearly quadrupled, and speed was beyond par, almost even with his grandfather's in death god form... maybe even faster if he had more control. Despite the chaos that had been going on, he felt he was blessed with the power and ability to be able to protect the ones he loved, while backing his ideals for the world.

But at the same time, he was cursed...

...cursed with having to run away from the world, not letting anyone know his true identity. The military was on his rear twenty-four-seven and would eventually find him. Once that happened, he would be on the run again, and who knows how long that would go on for?

The cyborg-boy was surprised when the door of his own house flew open and his mother came running out, calling out to the fainted girl within his arms. The odd thing though was that his father just stared at him as if he were seeing a ghost. After getting the poor girl into his bed... yes, _his_ bed... they went down stairs and an odd knock was heard from the other side of the door.

It was the Doctor.

* * *

"So, you have heard that your son is alive?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! The government and their sick dealings!"

"H-honey what are you saying- Professor, we're sorry to have bothered you..."

"No, he's completely right," the old man sighed, "I was involved."

"Eh!?" both parents went rigid at the news. This was absolutely shocking, to think that a normal looking man such as this had anything to do with the dealing of their son's body! What did he do? What happened to their son? Was money involved? If so, how much? Why?

"In fact, this has nothing to do with the Japanese government at all."

"_Eh!?_" Now their mouths were hanging open. That changed everything. Foreign body exchange? Foreign government experiment? Foreign organ dealing? What was it?

"This is a top secret, totally confidential project that is handled directly by the United States Military."

"_**Eh!?**_" They jumped up. Military!? Why was the military involved? Why would the military want to do with a young Japanese teenager's dead body? For what purpose?

"I am here to tell you that, that is why I am here in the first place. What I am about to reveal to you is completely illegal for me to tell you about... so..."

"W-we got it," Takeshi trembled at the news, "we'll keep our mouths sealed."

They were utterly eager to hear everything.

* * *

Shin finally made it down the stairs, and noticed something very out of place.

His mother was crying, his father shaking, and the Doctor just simply... staring into space.

_Huh?_ The boy stared as he almost made it halfway down the stairs. Upon the creaking of his steps, the three people in the living room turned their heads to face him. From his angle he could see that that something very odd and dark had happened while he was upstairs. He wondered about the possibilities that may have occurred.

One, the Doctor may have told them his profession as a biologist and the full details of the war... that was very unlikely, his parents wouldn't just cry like that over a history lesson... unless the Doc had some skills up his sleeve on making dramatic stories and telling of emotional hardships. Shin nearly laughed at that; he couldn't imagine such a scientist talking like that. Two, the old man could have talked to them about a twisted version of his life and how he had 'adopted' his son, and some other thing like that. But that was also very unlikely. His parents would have a look of admiration, not like they had just witness the death of someone in a terrible car accident. Thirdly...

No, that wasn't possible.

The reasonable, professional scientist wouldn't do that... would he?

* * *

"Shin," the Doctor sighed, "You may come down now."

* * *

The boy's face paled.

So he _did_ tell them. Trying to regain his composure and stand straight, he made the best effort to make his way down without stumbling or falling. Fortunately, the cyborg's augmented reflexes were there to help him. As soon as he felt himself fall, his reaction time help to make it like like as if he never started to fall at all. He made it down the stairs in one piece.

He analyzed the situation.

First things first. If what he speculated about the third option being true, then his parents would have been told everything. They would know all about the experiment. They would know all about his bio-engineered body... and the virus. How would they see him with a supposedly deadly virus inside his body that now made up his entire being? How were they supposed to understand and love some kind of monster such as himself?

In that moment Shin began to hate himself.

* * *

"Oh Shin! Honey!" His mother came up and hugged him, "We missed you!"

"Eh?" Shin had a look of surprise and confusion written all over his face. He was unable to react.

"My son!" Even his father came up to hug him. "I thought we'd lost you forever! How the heaven's have blessed us!"

"W-what's going on?" The silver-haired boy looked at the old Doctor for an answer. "D-Doc?"

"Hmhmhm," the old Professor chuckled, "Hahahahah!" The man threw his head back and laughed hard.

"E-eh?" The mechanical-eyed teenager was now confused beyond reason, "W-what did you do?"

"T-the look on your face boy!" The doctor tried not to laugh, but failed to do so, "Hohoho! Did you not read the letter I sent you?"

"Huh?" He looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and dropped jaw.

"The letter, you idiot. The letter that you got from that suspicious-looking man on the train," KIRA popped up into his head and explained.

"O-oh! The letter!" The boy quickly whipped out the wet piece of paper. "Er... It's kinda wet."

The doctor just stared with a quizzical look on his face.

"In that case, I had better explain," the man coughed to clear his voice and began. "In the beginning of it, I explained that I was going to be meeting you at your parents house, explaining to them about your case. Afterwards, I would propose to you and your family about a solution that even the military could agree on."

"Even the military?" Shin wondered about that. "Wouldn't the military want to keep me so as a weapon?"

"Yes... and there are some other complications, but I already explained everything to them, so they back me completely with this plan... almost."

"Almost?" The boy was beginning to worry already, and so were his parents. "Em... You're sure I'm not going to get killed, contained, or restrained against my will right?"

"Just open the letter and see if you can read the second page."

The sixteen-year old opened the letter and tried to make it out, and was able to decipher the smudged words with his special mechanical eye.

"Dear Kenseigan User,

I have recently received information that you, Kurosaki Shin, have decided to go by the alias 'Kamiwa Kira', from Dr. Archibald, the head of the Kenseigan Project. Upon hearing details of this supernatural phenomenon of your personal being returning to your body, I have come to a conclusion that may suit your current needs. As a biologically enhanced soldier with threat to current humanity (details of this experiment are confidential), my military division feels that you need to be contained. However, you are a live civilian whose person had been abducted against their will, thus breaching our own country's laws.

Therefore, my colleagues have decided you to list you as a mercenary. With this, you will be under military supervision, and still be able to serve whenever you desire. The United States military and I, General Kavanagh, believe that this will be the best solution for you. You will be recruited directly to the U.S. Marine Corp. with the starting rank of a Lancer Corporal. Be thankful that you don't start from basic training! As you're enhanced skill and modified brainpower may prove invaluable to the force, you will be given a diagnostic testing on several different levels to classify your level and potential, determining whether your current given rank is suitable to you.

Also, I have heard from several of my Intel's spies that you're combat ability in hand to hand alone is above standard, proving that the experimentation went well.

There is also another problem. You are still a high school student. As such, we have talked with the Doctor to arrange some means to contact your school and work things out. If you accept, you will attend school and accept assignments in between classes.

Being hired as a mercenary would also give a starting salary of 35,000 a year, assuming that you accept assignments regularly. However, we feel that (once again) your abilities are important and have raised it to 40,000 with tax exemptions. This is lower than the today's standard mercenary's salary, but you are underage. If this information was leaked, problems may occur.

Another thing: Please accept, I beg you. If you are unable to accept, as by the unanimous order from the United States government, you are to be eliminated under the presumption of being a potential carrier for a Class-Four Virus/Disease/Illness. From what I have heard and read from reports, you are not so. I would hate to have to waste a life such as yours.

Sincerely,

David Kavanagh

General, Commandant of the Marine Corp.

P.S. - Don't reveal your identity to anyone."

Shin and his parents just stared at the letter with open mouths. The Doctor simply waited for a response from the seemingly lifeless family.

"Um..." the old Professor's eyes darted left and right, from the parents to the younger teenager. "Are you people okay?"

"Uh-huh..." the parents just numbly answered.

"Guh..." Shin's eyes suddenly narrowed and his veins pulsated. "How am I supposed to not say 'yes'?"

"That's the point," Dr. Archibald simply stated, knowing this was going to be comical.

"My life sucks," the boy looked down at the floor with a depressed look on his face.

"Well," the Doc began, "look at it this way: you're getting paid a normal man's salary and you don't even have to work that much."

Shin stared at the letter in his hands again.

"But I have to take school and go to the military? This seems harder than it sounds."

"Ah, but you have the Kenseigan and your artificial brain... and you have KIRA. Tests should be a piece of cake," the doctor responded with his hand gestures.

"I'm going to be risking my life... in battle... with bullets... and stuff."

"Er... You're serving your country?"

"I'm Japanese!"

* * *

Aoi felt rather alone up in Shin's room, with all the mementos of herself and her former boyfriend around her. It was beginning to feel uncomfortable having to look at them and be reminded that the one you loved wasn't alive anymore. She curled up into the bed, smelling Shin's scent from the pillow and covers.

It reminded her of the time her first kiss was stolen away on the rooftop, how the wind blew in her hair, and how his hands just went all over her, touching the spots that made her feel hot all over...

She began to imagine that moment, and began to feel the hands of her lover roam around her being just as she had felt them at that moment, just as if it were a few minutes ago.

The girl closed her eyes and let out a tiny moan.

"You're a _very __**naughty**_ girl..." a familiar male voice whispered warmly into her ear.

Her eyes snapped open and her body immediately went stiff, waiting for whoever it was to just disappear. She hoped that the person behind her wasn't Shin... or Kira. Okay, maybe she hoped it was one of them and they would just take a hold of her and just take over for her, but she was much too embarrassed right now to even think it was possible.

The prayed to whatever deity of Japan existed that this was a dream and the person behind her would disappear. Aoi prayed... hard.

"Thinking of such _dirty_ things..."

"T-t-that's not true..." She tried to cover it up but, the boy behind her didn't believe her... of course.

"I can _smell _it..." his voice was full of masculinity and his own smell overpowered her senses. At this rate...

She felt a firm hand on her shoulder turn her around, and the pink-haired girl let out a sudden gasp as she was forced to look into those sapphire-blues once more.

* * *

At the moment, to be honest, Shin felt a little sorry for his love.

He had slipped into the room, and with the lights being off, it was pretty dark in there. The sixteen year old soldier used his genetically enhanced senses to make his way around the room as silently as possible. Halfway there, he had noticed an odd scent in the air, filling up the entire room. He heard small, muffled noises... the kinds you hear in movies when a couple is making out... but only with one person.

A grin made its way to his face and he pretty much figured out the rest of what was going on.

With his sentient program pal, he was able to filter out the scented molecules in the air.

The girl was releasing high concentrations of pheromones... and it was affecting him as well. His own rate of pheromone output increased, slightly bothering him as to what may happen. He shook his head and made his way to the bed, making sure that he would make it to the girl's side without notice.

Fortunately, she was on her left side, and he had approached her from behind.

Deciding to have a little fun, he teased her with a seductive voice.

"You're a very _**naughty**_ girl..." emphasizing the accent on the word. His grin slightly grew wider as he saw her body instantly go still, showing that he had hit jackpot.

"T-that's not true..." But he knew it was true. The girl's voice had come out awkward and stuttered, telling him she was very nervous and lying to him out of sheer embarrassment of her actions. He was seeing the lower half of her body twitch, probably aching to continue whatever it was she was doing before. Shin placed his left hand on her shoulder and pulled her to face him. She gasped, staring into his eyes as if entranced by them. Her mouth was slightly open, and he wanted to kiss it so badly, but that would have to wait...

Shin placed his hands at the edge and slowly made it under the covers, brushing his hand against her body.

"Ah?" Aoi gasped, the pitch in her voice raising in confusion as to what he was doing. She jolted and quivered at his touch.

His animal-like instincts began to take over, having him rub his hands all over, just as he had done before many days ago.

"S-Shin..." she moaned out loud, the shakiness of her voice reaching his ears, making him want to make love to her.

It was then that his reason stepped in.

'Kira' immediately stopped what he was doing, pulling away, realizing that what he was doing was completely wrong. Just ignoble in itself.

He was breathing heavily from the nervousness... the fear that Aoi would now think of him as some weird pervert that saved her only to have his way.

* * *

Aoi looked at him in confusion. Was it something she said?

"W-why did you stop? K-keep going..." She blushed a deep crimson-red.

* * *

"U-uh." He stared. Did his ears just deceive him?

She just asked him too keep going. Despite the fact that his mind said 'no', his body said 'yes'. He struggled inside to make the right decision.

The AI within his head was unbelievably quiet, making the situation even more unbearable for him.

Right then, the door flew open... with his mother standing in its way.

Both teenagers quickly scrambled in panic.

* * *

"Jeez, teenagers will be teenagers!" Manami Kurosaki was furious. "I mean, I was wondering why it took him so long to get her to come down, and I go upstairs and _this_ happens!"

Both teens sat on the couch holding their cups of tea... at the opposite ends away from each other.

"I can't keep my eye off of them for even one second!" She was upset that her son... her son! That he had the gall to make out with some girl... with his parents still in the house! Was he that stupid!? If he was going to do it, then he might as well do it somewhere away from the house or when she wasn't home!

Manami just looked at her son and sighed in disappointment.

Aoi was a good girl and all, but her own son was a bit foolish... just a little.

* * *

Shin tried to think of something to occupy his mind. He couldn't bear to look at his mother and father in the eye at the moment. The boy had let himself go with the flow, loosing track of time with Aoi.

"So," his father whispered to him, obviously trying not to draw his mother's attention. "How far did you guys get?"

"Guh!" Shin nearly chocked on his tea.

Aoi just dropped the cup she was holding and the liquid spilled all over the ground.

* * *

Manami's eye's twitched. Now her husband was in it!

"_**Takeshi!**_" She grabbed her husbands ear and pulled him away. The woman was going to kill him.

"O-ow! Owowowowow!" the man tried to pry his wife's fingers from his ear. "Ow! C-come on dear, I was merely joking! Aha-ow!"

"I think I'll leave now..." the Doctor quietly stood and began to tippy-toe on his way to the door. "Oh yeah, Shin. I'll give you a call." He made the gesture for 'phone'.

Shin looked at his pocket where the cell phone was. He looked up and saw that the Doctor was already outside.

* * *

The two teenagers stared at the wall across from them as they heard random things crashing upstairs and Shin's mother yelling.

The boy smacked his forehead and sighed.

Who knew his mother could be so loud?

* * *

A/N: Oooh. How was my writing this time? It was a little short... Did you love the mini-love scene goin' on there? Please review and tell me what you think!


	12. ACT 01: GWS CH11

Sorry for taking so long; took a break 'cause I was sick and had a lot of stuff going on. Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_The two teenagers stared at the wall across from them as they heard random things crashing upstairs and Shin's mother yelling._

_The boy smacked his forehead and sighed._

_Who knew his mother could be so loud?_

* * *

After much bickering and bantering within the Kurosaki household, Shin just decided he couldn't listen to anymore, so he just went outside... leaving Aoi inside... alone.

He disliked having to leave his girl by herself in the house, but he just needed some time alone. His life was passing by way too fast. Where was his time going? Where was his childhood leaving to? Who was he to become now? How would he fare with his new life as a high school student and military specialist? There were many more questions like this unanswered, and Shin wanted to know how to get the information to them all. Unfortunately, his Kenseigan didn't help.

There was another 'issue' at hand.

He was a Shinigami.

His earlier sight of the Hollow being slain reminded him of that, no matter what had happened. This was important, more important than his current situation in the physical world. The inverted Shinigami needed to be wary of every corner for the unknown enemy lurking in the dark, ready for the predator and prey that would pose as a threat... especially if his physical mechanical eyes couldn't detect them well.

The rain had lessened, allowing for Shin to feel the vibration of the phone against his leg from within his right pocket.

"Hello?" He answered, his hands paling as his grip tightened on the slim model piece of technology.

"Ah," the Doctor's voice was heard through the line, "Surprised that you managed to get away, haha."

"You just left ten minutes ago," the boy's mouth tightened, "Why call me now?"

"I forgot to tell you," the Doctor sort of laughed on the other side, the cyborg couldn't really tell. "You start school in three days."

"I don't think that may be possible, Doc."

"What? Why?" The Professor's voice suddenly sounded confused, "Is something going on?"

"No, I just need to go somewhere... important. Sorry, I'll contact you through this number again when I'm available."

With that, Shin hung up. He looked down at the ground, his orange bangs hanging over his eyes.

* * *

Dr. Archibald just stared at his mobile device for a good five minutes.

Whatever it was, he wouldn't even bother.

* * *

Shin ran back inside, expecting to find the house still noisy. However, upon his return to the interior of his home, the teenager, whose black dress attire had now become wet again, slowly stepped into the house, finding that it was oddly quiet. He was weary of his mother's yelling, so slipped off his shoes in case she popped out from around the corner, trying to catch him walking upon the carpet with his footwear. Turning the corner to get into the living room, he bumped into a pretty face.

"I-te! (Ow)" Shin's hand immediately covered his nose, trying to catch any blood that might fall.

"Aiii..." Aoi was holding her forehead, a little red from smashing it into the center of her savior's face.

_I can't believe I was dumb enough to not notice my girlfriend coming around the corner..._ Shin mentally berated himself. Upon that thought, his face dulled a bit.

His girlfriend. In fact, she wasn't his girlfriend at all. He was still some 'stranger' that happened to run into her at the 'funeral of his friend' and just coincidentally saved her from many dangerous situations and events that may have been life-threatening.

Right now, he was not supposed to think as if he were Shin. He was to be 'Kira', the unknown high-school mercenary. He saddened at that. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and become her boyfriend... again.

"A-Aoi," he called for her attention.

"Hm?" She looked up at him with her wide, blue eyes. They instantly captivated him... just as his did hers. He noticed the blood rise to her face as a bright blush became visible to him. "W-what is it?" She was still cutely covering her forehead with both hands, one overlapping the other.

"I'm going away," he sighed out, unable to hold his breath in any longer.

Her eyes instantly widened as tears began to form at the edges, and her mouth dropping open as a gasp escaped her lips. Her hands dropped and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling herself closer to his body. She tightened her grip, and forced herself to look into his eyes deeper, hoping that they would not pull away or leave her sight.

"W-why? Where are you going?" She was frightfully filled with panic as she was afraid of... yes, losing her loved one. She had desperately fallen in love with a man that she had only met about eight hours ago. Those precious eight hours had been filled with fear, anxiety and even severe depression. But those were not the only feelings that she felt. She had felt the emotions and feelings of security, happiness, and even the sacred emotion called love. She had fallen helplessly in love with another man that she had only known for so long... and she became afraid.

"Somewhere. This is rather important," 'Kira' looked away from her, trying not to meet her eyes any longer.

At this the tears truly fell. At this her feelings of love and warmth began to fall to the ground. At this, Aoi's sadness surfaced and revealed itself.

"A-are you going to leave me too?" She looked up at him, his eyes now facing her with surprise. She slid to the floor, her legs now unable to support her weight. "I can't bear it... anymore... I lost someone already... not another... I can't..."

Shin looked down at her again. He shut his eyes and wished he could kill himself. The teenager's mindset was still that of before: he was still thinking they were together; that he was still 'alive' and she was still his girlfriend.

He needed to change.

"Aoi, that's not it," he bent down and hugged her, "I'm not leaving you..."

She kept crying, unmoving, obvious that her strength had diminished from the hectic events.

"Shh, shh," Shin tried to calm her down, "I'm not going to leave you..."

The boy swallowed, preparing himself.

"I love you."

* * *

"I love you," his voice rang throughout her head.

Aoi heard the three words bounce around within her head, echoing on for all of eternity. Her ears didn't play a dirty trick on her mind... did they? She attempted to slow down her breathing, and calm herself down, but her heart kept thumping so hard. The loud beating noise overpowered her senses, allowing for nothing else to enter her range of hearing. Her crying gradually stopped though, as she began to feel the heat of Shin's body enter her through his tight hug. She just stayed in that position, limp, letting Kira keep hugging her. She couldn't hold it in.

"S-say that again..." the pink-haired girl's blush returned even stronger, darker than the previous.

The silver-haired boy pulled back to look for a confirmation. Aoi's heart began to beat even faster, her eyes still trapped within his gaze.

"I-I w-want to hear..." her voice drifted off, her eyes widened, as a deer caught in headlights. "U-uh..."

"Hm? Say that again?" His voice had a melodious ring to it, almost mischievous, but the girl couldn't hear it. Her heart was still thumping way too loudly.

"I-I..." Her mouth just hung open, her voice drifting off as her she was getting frenzied about this. She couldn't seem to think of a way out. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't she supposed to be the one crying while grasping his clothing so tightly that he couldn't run away, confessing her undying love? So, why was it that he was holding her and the one saying I love you, while she was the one being flustered about it? Where had the roles gone?

The truth is, when it comes to love, romantic roles don't take place. They just happen to go with the flow.

"Here, I'll only say this once," the firmness of his muscles pressed up against her as he drew himself to her ear, making her stomach do butterflies as she felt his hot breath go down on the side of her face and neck. "Well...

... I – 'l-o-v-e' you"

She fainted.

* * *

Shin tried to hold in a chuckle. The poor girl fainted, so he carried her back up to his bed and left her note with his cell phone number. Of course, he was going to be away, so he wrote that he would _call her_. It would be rude to just have her call him and not be able to pick up.

"You're an unbelievable little devil with the ladies," the AI chirped within his head. "What do you do to make them fall for you like that?"

"It's just Aoi, there's no way that another-" Shin stopped as KIRA pointed out a group of women on the other side of the street. It seemed to be a coterie of older teenage girls, coming home late from somewhere apparently. The computer program showed him that several of the girls were checking him out...commenting on his hair and eyes. The boy gulped and kept walking forward.

"So, what's the trick?"

"I dunno," Shin sputtered out, his words becoming slurred at the revelation.

* * *

The cyborg used his military given skills to slip into the house unnoticed. It was nearly 12:30 in the morning, and he did not want to wake up the manager. He figured he should have come back, but his grandfather had ditched him at the funeral and the boy hadn't come home since. He wondered if the manager was waiting for him or just sleeping. He silently crept across the floor on all fours like a cat, careful not to apply pressure on any old pieces of the wood.

His eyes flickered from wall to wall, corner to corner, quickly looking for any trace of any being that may come out to pounce him. There were none.

"Ahem," a deep familiar voice came up from behind him.

"Eh?" a comical face came over Shin's face.

Tessai had caught him.

* * *

"So," Urahara-san sipped his tea. "That's quite a story. Quite glad to see that you gave me _all_ the details."

"Er..." the silver-haired boy rubbed the back of his head. _Well, not all of them._ He thought of the room incident between him and Aoi as a blush came over his face.

"You are a strange boy..." the store-owner kept drinking his tea. "So many things keep happening to you, you know! And then I'm the one who wakes up at ONE AM to hear it!" The striped-hat wearer had a vein appear on his forehead as he slammed his tea cup on the table.

"Uh-uh... yeah! Ahahaha..." Shin casually laughed along, seemingly calm. _Oh crap, I'm dead._

"Hm," the manager entered into deep thought. "You ever wonder, Shin-san?"

"Eh, what?" Shin braced himself.

"You ever get the feeling some author is toying around with your life, you know? Like in those manga-novel-book thingys?"

"Uh..." The boy didn't have an answer for that.

* * *

This was it. His fulfillment to the test.

Shin and Ichigo roamed the city in search of Hollow.

"Why are we lookin' for Hollow again?" The older death-god asked.

"We're looking for them because my soul slayer asked me to. And not just any Hollow... it has to be a soul condemned to hell."

"Hmm," Ichigo pondered upon that. He had come upon many of them in his lifetime. The orange-haired man got chills every time he thought of the doors of Hell opening and dragging the Hollow down with it. Kinda freaky. "Your zanpakuto must be lusting to slay a Hollow if its asking for things like that. Heh, well with the crime rate in this city we're bound to find at least one."

"I heard there was a serial killer that died several weeks ago," Shin commented, obtaining information from his computer friend.

"Oh yeah, I also heard from Soul Society's Intel that there was a Hollow out on the loose in this area killing off Shinigami. I need to get on that..." A sweat-drop fell down the side of Ichigo's face.

"Perfect," Shin immediately activated his new 'Reiatsu-Detection' program that he and KIRA had created. The white-clothed Shinigami found that it was increasingly difficult for him to sense other people's reiatsu, so he would use his RADAR system with his spiritual energy to locate the location of spiritual entities. Of course, on-screen, physical enemies were colored yellow, and Hollow would be red. Anything else unidentified was blue. However, in this large metropolis called Tokyo, it made it harder to distinguish enemies as the signals were often blocked or deflected by large buildings. The boy would have to improvise.

The espada look-alike immediately jumped high into the air, above every building. His eyes were now able to scan the entire city from the tremendous hight.

"Shin! Get down you fool!"

_Hm? _Shin's eyes moved to an approaching ally.

"They can see you!" Ichigo was seen approaching him using Shunpo.

The cyborg death-god turned his attention to several Shinigami approaching him. The contacts on his HUD counted up to thirteen death gods and one captain. A captain. Shin's eyes narrowed. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be seen by the public or Soul Society, yet he had been discovered. So much for the hiding.

"Cheh!" The Arrancar-imitator quickly blurred out of existence and reappeared right into the middle of the attacking group.

"Woah!" one of the opposing Shinigami cried, and brought down his soul slayer upon the younger boy.

With absolute skill and without hesitation, Shin immediately palmed the other in the chest, blowing him about fifty yards away. Another Shinigami came up on his rear and tried to stab him, but the enhanced cyborg twirled in the air and round-house kicked into the man's right cheek with his left foot. The older offender swirled in the air. Wasting not time, Shin continued to use hand-to-hand combat against the other Shinigami, effectively neutralizing them. All that was left was the captain.

"Heh, that was impressive, kid," the elder death god smirked and spit. "I thought all the Espada or whatever got wiped out in the war."

"I'm not an Espada or Arrancar or whatever. I'm a Shinigami."

The captain stared for a few full minutes with wide eyes, then threw his head back and laughed hard.

"Hah! Being dressed like that, who would believe you? You make me laugh!" The man drew his sword, "And you've taken out thirteen of my most capable men in three minutes. I must fight you! Hagh!" the captain swung his sword, a huge blast of odd-colored reiatsu making its way towards the younger fighter.

Shin refused to use his swords in combat against another Shinigami. He couldn't afford to.

"Fight me like a man! Hahahah!" The older death god continued to swing his sword with inhuman strength and speed, almost so that Shin was forced to backpedal his steps to avoid being hit.

"Stop! Stop!" Finally Ichigo had intervened, breathing heavily from trying to catch up to the two fighters.

"Oi! Ichigo! Watcha doin' here? Eh?" the pointy-haired captain pointed his sword at the orange-haired one, completely disregarding the younger Shinigami in front of him.

"Same for you! Kenpatchi! What are you doing here!?" Ichigo was surprised that the man had come to Tokyo in the first place.

Shin was left out, left to wonder what in the world was going on.

"Well, I was sent to get that Hollow runnin' around, ya know? Then I meet this guy here! He's great for sparrin'!"

"He's my grandson!"

"Oh, that explains it."

"W-what!? Aren't you all surprised or whatever?"

"Nah, I was just hopin' to spar with you as a challenge. Then I got to fight this kid instead! Hah, you've trained him well!"

"Er..." Ichigo rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't really train him... he's all natural with that fighting stuff..."

"Are you for real!? Hahahaha! You have to bring this kid to spar with me later!"

"Y-yeah... eheheh..."

"Taichou! (Captain/Leader)" A Shinigami's voice called from the ground. "Taaiiicchhooouuuu!!"

"Shuttup! I can hear you from miles away! What is it!?" The old warrior grumbled.

"We found it! The Hollow!" The Shinigami was waving at his captain from the ground. "Here, come her-"

All of a sudden, a blurry large monster appeared from the bushes and swept the man away with its mouth, leaving behind large trails of blood as its prey screamed its lungs out.

"Oh damn," the captain sighed.

"I'm on it." Shin instantly used Shunpo to get on the enemy's heels.

"That boy's amazin' at usin' the Flash Step... and he doesn't even have your bankai or anything... He ever train under that Yoruichi?"

"Nah, but at this rate, I'm starting to get the feeling that he's going to be the next Sunshin (God of Flash)..."

"Who is?" a familiar woman's voice came up from behind him. Ichigo turned around to see who it was and let out a huge gasp.

* * *

Shin couldn't quite catch the monster. As soon as he tried to reach with his hand, the devious Hollow just bolted around a corner... annoying the wits out of the cyborg. He decided to use _that_. Pulling up a commands list from his HUD, he selected the recommended skills to use, as recommended by the artificial intelligence. He would use Kido (Demon Arts), specifically Hadou (Destructive Arts), taught to him by Tessai-san... but with a little twist. Being a cyborg Shinigami with a brain that could mulit-task incantations, he would use two hands... instead of one.

Within his mind, he chanted.

S_prinkled on the bones of the Beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! ..._ (1)

_Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the flame of Man! Inferno and Pandemonium, the sea barrier surges! March on to the South! ... _(2)

"Hadou no Rokujuu-san: _**Raikouho**_ (DA Sixty Three: Thunder Roar Cannon (1))!! Hadou no Sanjuu-ichi: _**Shakkaho**_ (DA Thirty One: Shot of Red Fire (2))!!"

A wave of yellow energy erupted from his left hand, as a destructive cannonball of red fire burst from his right. The first attacked forced the beast to stop in its tracks to avoid being hit, and the second trapped it as it turned around to flee. A huge explosion occurred, having hit the target on contact.

"That's impressive," a low voice said into his ear.

"Huh?" Shin whipped his head around to shockingly see a woman with short hair standing next to him. When did she get there!?

"Hm, Ichigo was never good at Kido... You seem to be a promising Shinigami..."

"W-who are you?" the orange-tipped, silver-haired death god gulped, hoping that this woman wasn't out to get him too.

"Rukia!" his grandfather called, running towards them. "Geez, don't go running off on your own. Let me at least introduce my own grandson..."

"I-Ichigo-jii, you know this woman?"

"Yeah, she's sorta my colleague... you know? Eheheh..." the Shinigami nervously laughed it off.

"Oi, Ichigo. Your grandson seems to show a lot of potential, although his control is a little fluctuating. You better train him well..." the older woman stared at the two of them.

"More training!? I've been training my ass off!" Shin flustered about, worried he would have to endure more of the fighting hell.

A loud roar was heard from the direction of the destruction of the Kido that Shin used, drawing the three death gods' attention. Soon, Kenpatchi joined them, itching to get into the fight.

The Hollow had survived.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bares the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws... Hadou no Sanjuu-san: _**Soukatsui**_ (DA Thirty Three: Crashdown)!!" Rukia cried as a quick and deadly blast of blue fired from her hand. An explosion immediately occurred afterwards, but the beast still lived. "Damnit!" She became frustrated and unsheathed her sword, ready to battle.

"Damn, that's one persistent bitch, if you ask me," Zaraki commented.

"That things not normal," Ichigo readied his sword. "I'm gonna-"

"**Shine, _Amaterasu!_ Destroy, _Susanoo!_ Kasei, _Kamikaze!_**"

The overpowering effects of the sword blew the air with such force that the other three Shinigami were forced to partially cover their eyes.

"Graaaggh! Hahahah!" The Hollow laughed in the face of death. "You'll never catch me!" It blew multiple blasts of red spiritual energy from its mouth.

Some of the blasts met head-on with the fire and wind, but failed to prevent them from coming. The remaining blobs of reiatsu that made their way toward Shin would never reach.

"Reflect, Tsukiyomi! _**Hansha!**_"

The familiar shield formed in front of Shin, reflecting the offensive energy back at the monster. Met with its own attack, it screamed unprepared, unable to defend itself. Ichigo, Rukia and Zaraki stood stunned at the performance, not being able to move after witnessing such skill and power from the three swords. The battle had ended way too fast.

The boy wasted no time. Walking up to the downed monster, he grabbed the scruff of its neck and lifted the large beast into the air. It was odd, looking at a smaller being lift something so large.

"Tell me," Shin began, "Are you the soul of the human serial killer who was executed a while ago?"

The monster struggled to escape the white-clothed Shinigami's grasp, but failed to do so, as it was too weak to do anything.

"Will you kill me if I am?" The beast chuckled, then winced in pain as the death god tightened his grip on its neck.

"Foolish being... Does it matter?" The teenager looked into the Hollow's with threatening, piercing eyes. It pissed the monster off.

"Che, yeah! What are ya going to do about it, huh?" The Hollow began to laugh, then jerked to a stop as a blade was suddenly stabbed into its back and came out of its chest. "U-ughh... W-wait... I don't want to die... not y-yet... no...

...no... _**Nooo!!**_"

The large doors of hell appeared, and the chains broke as the large, colossal gateway opened itself. A large, skeletal hand rushed out from the dark world and grabbed a hold of the beast, pulling it in.

"No! Nonononono! I can't die yet! Not yet! No! This can't be! Noooooooo!!"

The hand had fully drawn in the Hollow into the Underworld.

Just before the doors closed, Shin looked back at his grandfather and the two companions, smiling.

"Ja-na (See you)." He slipped inside.

"W-what!? Shin! No! What are you doing!? Come back!" Ichigo desperately chased after his kin, hoping to save him. It was too late, the doors shattered, leaving empty space behind.

The eleventh-squad captain held the flailing death-god back, trying to tell him it was impossible to bring back his grandson.

"Why!? Damnit! Why did he do that?" the orange-haired Shinigami cried. "Shin! Damnit! You idiot!" The death-god slammed his fists into the ground.

Rukia stared into the space that the white-clothed Shinigami once stood. She was thinking hard about something. It had caught her ears as to the names and chants to his swords' releases. They were very interesting names... the names of a very important tale told to all and kept safe within Soul Society's research library. No wonder the boy was able to slay the hollow so _easily_... so quickly with such skill and grace... and it explained the boy's high level of spiritual power. The raven-haired death god wracked her mind as to how this could be. Did Ichigo know? If he was around, then Urahara would definitely know by now. The names of Shin's zanpakuto.

His soul-slayers had the names of the gods of old...

* * *

A/N: Oooohhhhhhhhhh!! Epic-ness about to arrive in the next chapter! What will happen to Shin!? Why did he do what he did? What will he do now? What will Ichigo do to save him? Find out in the next chapter, the beginning of ACT 02!!

PS: REVIEW GUYS, SERIOUSLY. lol


	13. ACT 02: GWS CH12

The beginning of ACT 02, and the new chapter. Nothing has changed really... think of it as the beginning of a new 'arc' in the story.

Note: Stay 'till the end for a little poll! State what you want! ... and submit a review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

Pain.

He was writhing in pain.

Shin flailed about as his body experienced the pain of going to 'Hell', burning constantly, yet never actually burning. The boy was desperate to get out. His eyes frantically searched for an exit in the midst of the intense fire, but he could not find one. Looking up, he saw that he was in a very deep pit, and a large one at that. Surrounding him were billions of Hollow and human souls, all experiencing the same pain. They were condemned to burn for eternity, yet never consumed by the fire that ate away at their flesh constantly. He needed to get out... he couldn't just lie there and burn in hell.

The white-clothed Shinigami made a half-assed attempt to Shunpo out of the pit, but he lost strength from the severe pain... not that it would have helped. The fires reached an incredible hight, and increased their tallness whenever a 'prisoner' tried to escape. There was no possible escape from this punishment. The fires were too strong. The burning sensation spread throughout his entire body, never ceasing... the feeling of his nerves constantly being ripped open and seared... infinitely.

Shin wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be receiving punishment. He needed to fulfill his 'mission'.

But it was his own damn fault he ran into the gateway of 'Hell'.

The boy refused to open his mouth and scream; that would be admitting defeat to the flames of this torture... it was impossible.

"_**Gaaaaaaaaagghhh!!**_"

He desperately moved his hands, searching for something that could possibly help kill himself before he could experience anymore pain. The silver-haired teenager found the hilt of his sword, he didn't know which, but he unsheathed and stabbed at his midsection.

Nothing happened... just more pain.

"Argh! Heheh! Kid!" a fellow soul burning next to him laughed, trying to endure the pain, but obviously failed. "Gah! You're in 'Hell', kid! You can't die here!"

"Aaaaghh!" The boy couldn't even reply.

"J-just more paiiiiinn... Gosh! Damn! Agh!" The man tried to struggle, forcing his words. "Whyyy you here anyway!?"

Shin immediately stopped. He forced himself into suspended animation as his computer counterpart took over. However, even that wasn't allowed. His lips turned into a scowl as he couldn't enter his little 'heaven-world', forced to experience this everlasting pain of fire and brimstone.

But then he had an amazing idea in the midst of mental chaos. He would have to try it.

"S-Shine! Amaterasu!"

Immediately, the fire from his blade emerged without an attack command, covering him from the fires of 'Hell', protecting him... shielding him from the pain of the Underworld. Shin collapsed as he could finally rest from the hurt of being burned over and over again. Suddenly, he saw many of the beings around him stare as he sat there comforted by his sacred fire. They all rushed him, desperate to have the same comfort and ease of pain as he did now.

Out of fear, Shin drew his other sword, Susanoo, and was about to slash away his attackers, but was overwhelmed by hands.

This was it... the end. He was going to be devoured by hands of crazed, deranged souls in 'Hell'.

He closed his eyes.

He then felt an odd sensation, a tightening grip of some kind of mass wrapping around his midsection, pulling him upwards. Looking up, he saw a long rope... pull him up. He analyzed it with his Kenseigan, and saw that it was not rope... it was hair... long mass of hair. Shin wondered who was pulling him up in a Rapunzel-like fashion, and in 'Hell' to boot. The flames of the pit attempted to grab him and pull him down, but the flames of the Sun Goddess kept him safe.

As he came the edge of the pit's opening, he looked over to see who had lifted him from the depths of pain and torture.

Shin came face to face with a decaying body of a young woman.

The boy tensed, waiting to slash, but stayed his blade, as he would not attack someone who just saved him from a frightening experience. However, his eyes never strayed from her gaze, waiting for some kind of strike to come at him. She spoke to him.

"I-Izanagi... is that you?" Her voice did not sound of a zombie, or a dead person. Instead, it sounded of a clean, pure person... having the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. It was sort of ironic for a woman of that appearance to sound so pretty. Shin did not lower his guard though, as he had read many legends and myths of demons who lured their prey with some form of beauty and lust, then killed and ate them after winning their heart. It still dawdled within his mind the way she called him Izanagi... the father of the three gods of shintoism... and the creator of the lands.

He thought about that... Shin then realized what she meant. Having the three gods, Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo as his swords, the voice that spoke to him from within must be Izanagi! To think that his ultimate sword was Izanagi, the creator god! The male's knees weakened. His mind jumped from place to place as he thought of the possibilities. What would the abilities of Izanagi be? Considering it was the god of all creation on Earth... Shin was excited just by thinking about it. His mind continued to wander until the woman's voice called to him again.

"Izanagi... Izanagi... Is it really you?" Her face, although falling apart from being in the Underworld, was easy to read, showing that she was sad. "W-why did you leave me back then? Have I become that ugly and fearsome to look at?" A dry tear fell from her eye.

Suddenly, Shin felt a holy force erupt from his chest, taking over his body. Despite his surprise and inability to resist, he was made to hug the decaying body and kiss her.

_What!? What am I doing? Why can't I control my body!?_ Shin frantically yelled within his mind. He did _not_ like kissing dead women... or other women... he only liked kissing Aoi.

"It appears that Izanagi has taken over..." KIRA stated, showing him on-screen that a new 'program' had taken over. Even the artificial program could not interfere with this type of file... not that the computer intelligence would try. It had learned of what was going on, and it figured that it was not its place to try and disrupt something of a higher being and authority.

"Oh, Izanami!" his voice cried out to her, making Shin sick to the stomach. He was being made to profess his love to some woman he didn't know. But upon hearing the woman's name, he stopped, realizing that this was Izanagi's wife. The old god had probably missed her so much. According the legend, he fled in distress because he was upset that the goddess had become a part of the Underworld... but any man would still be upset from having to leave his beloved wife. Shin would forgive the old 'voice' this time...

"Izanagi! I love you! I was so worried I would never see you again! It's been ages!"

"I'm sorry! I've been sealed away for a long time... I'm using this boy as my medium."

"Medium?"

"Yes, I no longer really have a body at the moment... I need to return to 'Heaven' for that."

"Hmm, well, it would be rude to continue using him for our own pleasure. As much as I hate to say this, release him!"

"H-huh? But we're _gods!_ We can do anything we want! Gods I say! G-O-D-S!"

"Izanagi, creator of the lands! I, as your _**beloved wife **__Izanami_, demand you to release him!" With that she smacked Shin's face with her tremendously long hair.

"Ow!" the two men, both Izanagi and Shin, cried out in pain.

This was comical. KIRA and Shin observed the two ultimate gods of Japanese deities quarrel as any other married couple would. This was hilarious. He could even hear the three other soul slayers within him snicker as they watched their parents bickering and arguing in such a manner. But being smacked by a woman when he wasn't even in control was sort of frustrating.

It seemed that in the spur of the moment, the almighty, all-powerful, and imposing god had belittled himself to nothing more than a husband being rebuked by his scary wife.

Soon, Shin felt his body's control return to him, and he could move freely once again.

"So," the creator goddess began, "I believe you are the avatar of the five legendary gods..."

"Huh?" the boy looked around for the woman, but found nothing but a sword on the ground... a very peculiar looking sword. He picked it up, noticing the white sheath and handle, with a single red stripe going down the middle on both sides. The sword and sheath both looked as if they were one material, except for the line near the end that showed him it was where the handle ended and the blade began. He couldn't unsheathe the sword, so he just shook in the air, expecting for it to fall out.

"Boy, stop shaking me around..." the distressed voice was heard again, "I am the sword."

"Oh man," Shin began to complain, "Now I have three voices in my head! I'm going crazy..."

"You are not... I will reside within your inner world along with the others. Until the time comes, you cannot release me. Until then... farewell. Izanagi says your test is over..."

"Huh? Wait!" the Shinigami tried to call out to the sword, but the spiritual particles drifted away into his body. "Great..."

He stared at his environment. It was a dark place, barely any light coming through the 'sky'. It was more of a vast ceiling that covered the entire world. He saw flickers of light coming from above, but couldn't make out what it was at this distance.

Looking around, he saw many souls wandering around, wondering why they weren't burning in the pit. Regardless, they seemed lifeless and unhappy, even more begrudging and upset than people in the physical world, uncaring about what was going on around them. He disregarded them at the moment and looked for a way out.

Then he saw a large beast fall from one of the holes that flickered from above. It's body plunged into the pit of fire.

Shin thought about what had just happened. If the beast had fallen from the hole in the 'sky' of the Underworld, then it must have been an evil Hollow that was slain and sent here through the gates of 'Hell'. Than those holes were... the gateway to the outside world.

It would be a long way to get up there.

"Might as well start going there now..."

With that, Shin made his way upwards using Shunpo.

* * *

Aoi walked home from shopping for groceries, something she hadn't done for a while, wondering about the last few days.

It had been two days since Kira left, and she had yet to receive a call from him. She cursed at herself. The girl had fainted just when it was getting good! The pink-haired, blue-eyed female blushed at that. The boy had told her he was leaving for a while, but before he left, he told her the most wonderful thing: that he loved her. In the panic and surprise of it all, she had fainted from the way he sexily whispered into her ear... it sent shivers down her spine every time she thought about the incident.

Although... she was sad. She wouldn't be seeing him again, as he and his father traveled abroad.

That didn't mean that she wouldn't make every effort to contact him though.

She happily walked onwards, until a chilly feeling spread throughout her body.

* * *

"I made it! Hah!" Shin laughed out loud. He burst out from the gateway before it closed... right into a group of befuddled Shinigami that were confused by his sudden appearance. "Uh-oh." To him, he was a poor soul that escaped the depths of hell. To them, he was probably a threatening Arrancar that had come back to eat them.

"You!" a death god, obviously the leader of the group, pointed his katana at him. "How did you get out?"

"Um, you may not believe me, but I'm actually a Shinigami who _accidentally_ fell into hell and had to escape the fire-"

"Liar!" They charged him.

"Oh shit!" He used Shunpo to get a head start on running away.

* * *

Aoi was running for her life. She had forsaken the vegetables and produce that she bought an hour ago in hopes of losing the weight that burdened her. Unknown to other people she saw a monster coming for her, a horrid beast with some sort of weird mask. The masked beast ran on all fours like a dog, chasing after her. It was bigger than a house, and obviously made the ground shake every time it hoisted itself into the air and landed. Why weren't the other people running?

She desperately ran in hopes of losing it, but it was so large that it saw wherever she ran to. It could jump and land in front of her anytime she wanted. It was toying with her. The girl was losing breath, and her legs would give out any moment, but she continued to run. She swore she would stay alive until she saw him again...

* * *

A familiar orange-haired Shinigami roamed the streets. A few minutes ago, his spiritual cell-phone had called to him, alerting him of a Hollow within the area. He was immediately on the chase, noticing an odd behavior of the tracker on his device's screen. It was chasing something...

Hurrying to stop the Hollow, he ran across the sky in search of the beast. Of course, Rukia was with him, still worried that Ichigo might not be able to handle it, seeing that he had lost his grandson two days ago. She would have to keep an eye on her friend.

The raven-haired death-god looked over the city with her eyes, noticing a familiar white blur in the streets... with a large horde of Shinigami right behind it.

"Uh, Ichigo..." she poked his shoulder, staring at the sight below.

"Hm?"

"Ichigo..." she poked again, calling for him to look.

"What do you want?" He kept running forward, not looking back.

"Ichigooo..." she poked harder.

Finally, a pulsating vein appeared on his forehead, and he whipped his head around.

"What!?" His eyes widened from being annoyed.

She pointed down at the event taking place under them.

"Oh..." He sensed the familiar reiatsu. "_**Oh!**_"

* * *

Shin hurried to get away, noticing that they were gaining on him.

He used Shunpo again, and noticed a very... very big Hollow not far away. It was nearly four stories tall, and ran like a dog... kind of looked like one too. The masked beast ran after something. Shin zoomed in quickly with his Kenseigan. It looked like a human being, he couldn't really tell from having zoomed in and out so quickly. It was probably some poor Plus soul in distress, frightened to death by the huge hollow chasing it. Well, he would have to do his job... while running away from the scary death-god seniors behind him.

* * *

"Hah he hah he ha..." Aoi panted hard, nearly out of energy. She dragged her feet, moving slowly, having no idea where she was.

The ferocious dog demon-like being had even slowed to let her keep going, giving her the impression that she could keep living if she kept running... clinging to life with all her might. She couldn't do it any longer.

Aoi collapsed onto the ground, lungs rapidly breathing, her heart pounding like it was going to explode, and her body screaming at her to run... but she was burned out.

_Why is my life so full of terror?_

She nearly closed her eyes, but saw a person dressed in white clothes of the olden times... with swords in his hands and another strapped to his back.

_W-what is that person doing? Why is he dressed like that? He can't win! Run!_ Her mind yelled at the person to run away, but she was too tired to vocally express her wishes.

Then she saw the familiar silver hair and orange bangs... and the blue eyes.

"K-Kira?" She whispered... with a little trace of blood flowing out the edge of her mouth.

* * *

Damn it all! The monster had been chasing Aoi!

He was so stupid!

In rage, Shin activated his three swords, stunning the death-gods that had been chasing him.

"**Reflect, **_**Tsukiyomi!**_** Shine, **_**Amaterasu!**_** Destroy, **_**Susanoo!**_"

Immediately, a burst of white light emerged from the spot that the white-clothed Shinigami stood, temporarily paralyzing the huge Hollow.

"_**Kamikaze!**_" he swung, blowing a gust of harmful wind and razor-like water molecules drilling into the beast. "_**Kasei!**_" the oxygen-concentrated area created by Susanoo burst with reddish white light as the flames fed upon the fuel, burning the wound created by the sharp wind power. Following up on those two attacks, Shin drew his third sword and swiped right down the middle, splitting the Hollow in half. He wasted no time, not bothering to look at the particles vaporizing into the air like the others around him.

"Aoi!" He immediately put his hands around her, hoisting her up so that he could get a better view of her face. She was bleeding out of the mouth. Not a good sign. He kept calling her name, hoping she would respond. "Aoi! Aoi!"

"Oi! Shin!" The boy looked up to see who was calling to him. It was Ichigo and Rukia, making their way through the crowd of Shinigami.

Knowing that they were there to help him, he looked back down and analyzed Aoi's internal state with his mechanical eye. Fractured thigh, deteriorating heart, and ruptured lung...

_My god... why did this happen!? How could this happen!?_ Shin buried his face into her chest, nearly crying.

"She's still alive," KIRA stated. "Although her status right now was probably caused from the scare of running from the Hollow. She won't live long after this."

_Shut up._

"I have a solution."

_Start talking. Now._

"Based on my theories of spiritual energy behavior, I believe that you can... let's say... pump energy into her? And begin the repair by giving her cells the energy to heal themselves. Although it is dangerous to do this as her cells would divide more rapidly to make up for lost ones... and her life span would decrease."

_Then what would you have me do!? Just sit here and let her die? Either way she dies!_

"I wasn't finished talking..."

Shin remained silent.

"You could always... do _that_..."

_Do what?_

"I think you may have to just do as I say..."

* * *

"Oi, Shin! Why did you do that, you had us worried you know!" Ichigo approached his grandson, hoping to hear his voice... but the boy remained cold, hugging his unconscious girlfriend even tighter. "Hey! I'm talking to you young man, liste-"

Suddenly Shin lay down Aoi very carefully and bolted at the nearest Shinigami. He grabbed the surprised death god and bit into his neck, making the man scream. It was a good five minutes before the man's skin turned bluish-black from the neck, spreading to his face and hands. The veteran Shinigami dropped his sword as his eyes rolled back into his skull and his body went limp. The silver-haired Shinigami dropped the body unto the floor, a black substance dripping from his canine teeth.

"It's empty..." the boy whispered.

"W-what's empty?" another death god asked in fear.

Quickly Shin made his way back to Aoi, and held her neck up to his mouth.

* * *

_I hope this works. If it doesn't, I'm gonna kill you, you bastard._

"Well, not if I _delete_ you first."

Shin bit into his beloved Aoi's neck, praying to Izanagi and Izanami that this would work.

In a matter of seconds, Shin and KIRA had both worked to use the mechanical brainpower to 'order' a virus strain within his body to act as a catalyst to extend the telomeric strands within Aoi's DNA to lengthen her life. Within the process of splitting and replication of DNA of cells, the telomeres preventing the chromosomes from tangling or escaping the nucleus would shorten, thus decreasing human life... which was why human cloning wasn't recommended and nearly impossible to maintain the subject for long. However, by replacing the lost mass of telomeres, the cycle of life could continue. But the human DNA itself didn't have the means or coding to make more.

This is where Shin's viral DNA came in. A virus would live as long as it's host did, even longer under certain circumstances. A viral strand of DNA would spread or jump from host to host, living as long as there was someone to infect. Obviously the virus had survived death, even if the host didn't. But under theory, the substances of the virus would not be able to live long enough, because it replicated itself over and over again... so how did it live? Many viruses and even hybrid viruses had the means for telomere expansion. Testing was done on living animals to see if they would live longer using some of these viruses. Of course, the negative effects of the viruses killed them off, discontinuing that research.

Now that his acidic and toxic compounds had been emptied out of his artificial snake-like alveoli, he began to produce a saliva-like fluid containing the catalyst virus strain. He pumped them into Aoi's neck, hoping that the virus strand would work. This virus had no other purpose but to create more telomeric strands for the healing process, then die, leaving the original strands of chromosome material intact and alive. No harm, no destruction of cells, no pain, no mutating to survive. Its order was strict.

Right after, Shin flowed his energy through his hands into her body, helping along the process of healing. Aoi's heart soon began to beat stronger, and her lungs began pumping, and her deteriorating cells regenerated. With his eye, he could see each individual virus strain do its work... then break down and wither away as if it never existed. It was a miracle.

* * *

Ichigo, Rukia, and the other Shinigami stared in wonder as the male teenager in front of them bit into the girl's neck... then push his energy into her body.

"H-he's healing her," Rukia said in awe. "But he killed a Shinigami to do it..."

"Of course... a rogue Shinigami such as himself would have _some_ kind of interesting power that would catch my eye..." a raspy male's voice filled the air, sending chills down everyone's spine. Even Shin looked up to see who it was.

"K-Kurotsuchi... twelfth division captain..." the raven-haired woman next to Ichigo gasped.

"Of course," the oddly dressed Shinigami mentioned, "If twelfth division troops run into trouble it would only make sense that I, the twelfth division captain would take heed. And see what specimen my notice has led to! Young man, would you like to come with me as a test subject? You seem much like an Espada, very interesting to me you know... I never had the wonderful experience of experimenting on them."

Shin just stared as the others stared at him.

"Sorry," the silver-haired boy chuckled mischievously, "I'm already taken in that department."

"What!?" Mayuri scowled, "By whom!?"

"A human doctor and professor who is a renowned virologist and biologist. He's the guy you're looking for if you want to negotiate. Now shoo."

The twelfth division captain was furious. He was going to keep the boy's existence a secret from the other captains as a means to experiment, but the boy's cocky behavior just enraged him.

"I'm going to report you to the higher-ups! Come," he motioned to his subordinates.

"W-wait!" Ichigo cried out. "You can't! He'll be abducted!"

"Of course," Kurotsuchi grinned, "And you, Zero-ban Tai Taichou (Zero Division Squad Captain)... you should be the most concerned out of all of us."

A door to Soul Society opened as the twelfth division walked through.

* * *

"S-Shin?" Aoi gasped, struggling to regain consciousness.

"Aoi? Sshh, don't talk," the blue-eyed boy whispered, trying to get her to rest in his arms.

"Shin... is that you?" she desperately wanted to know, "I heard... Shinigami... your name... what does this mean?"

"D-don't worry, I'll explain everything..." He was much too worried about her to think about the consequences, but at this point he would tell her anything to keep her from dying.

She smiled.

"K-kiss me," Aoi blushed, looking into his eyes, half expecting that he wouldn't and the other half hoping he would.

Without hesitation, Shin pressed his lips against hers, hugging her close to him, never wanting to let go of her ever again.

* * *

A/N: This... is going to get complicated. But I already know what I'm doing so you guys just sit back and relax... and review your butts off.

So this is the beginning of ACT 02, the new arc within the story. What will happen between Aoi and Shin? How will Soul Society react to Shin's existence? What's going to happen to Izanagi and Izanami? What will Ichigo do with his grandson? What happens to Shin and Aoi's parents? Is Urahara still lacking sleep? Find out in the chapters of ACT 02 to come!

Oh and just like I stated in the beginning, here's the Poll! State in the reviews!... and don't just write A, B, or C – give your opinion so I know what you guys really want.

Example: How many "ACTS" would you like to see in the future?

a) Just these.

b) Three more.

c) Infinitely many!

Poll 1: Would you like to see a sequel after everything is done?

a) Yes; involving Shin and Aoi grown up.

b) Yes; involving Shin's descendants... like his son or grandson or something.

c) No, I think this is epic enough.

Poll 2: What kind of power would Aoi get if she were to become a Shinigami?

a) A cool power that goes "woosh" and "pew pew"... and you can't forget the cape! lol

b) Something that is subtle and graceful... but not too weak or strong.

c) None; it would ruin the story somehow and I don't like where this is going.

Poll 3: If Shin and Aoi were to be featured in a sequel, would they:

a) Be married and have a kid.

b) Be a couple, but not married.

c) Other; Specify.

Note: These don't directly affect my writing, but gives me an idea on how to satisfy the reader or more of an in-depth look at what a reader wants to see. This won't make me do something, but will give me the knowledge that this is what you hope to see or want to see... and 2A is a joke lolz.


	14. ACT 02: GWS CH13

Sorry for taking so damn long, I was busy with a trip to Canada and work and studying for future SAT crap. Hope this doesn't happen again. Here's the new chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_"S-Shin?" Aoi gasped, struggling to regain consciousness._

_"Aoi? Sshh, don't talk," the blue-eyed boy whispered, trying to get her to rest in his arms._

_"Shin... is that you?" she desperately wanted to know, "I heard... Shinigami... your name... what does this mean?"_

_"D-don't worry, I'll explain everything..." He was much too worried about her to think about the consequences, but at this point he would tell her anything to keep her from dying._

_She smiled._

_"K-kiss me," Aoi blushed, looking into his eyes, half expecting that he wouldn't and the other half hoping he would._

_Without hesitation, Shin pressed his lips against hers, hugging her close to him, never wanting to let go of her ever again._

* * *

"Damn," Shin rubbed his eyes from fatigue. He wasn't supposed to be tired... not even a little.

"Well, that's what happens when your identity is nearly exposed," the AI chirped within his head, "If it wasn't for that Rukia-san and her magic memory-wiping gas or whatever, this would have become troublesome."

"You said it," the boy sat up from his futon. Thinking back, he pondered upon the programs behavior. "Aren't you the one to act more and more human? What happened to the '_I am a computer program, I shall delete you_'," the orange-banged boy mocked in a monotone, robotic voice, "Learning?"

"Does it not suit your taste?" KIRA wondered, "Would you rather have me speak in a monotone voice? You know..."

"What?" the Shinigami waited for an answer.

"Since you are back to being the host of this body... and I'm originally a gender neutral program, I could make my voice _much more__ feminine.__.._"

Shin shivered. The AI's sound waves changed pitch and length to become a woman's voice. It bothered him. It really did.

"Don't..." the boy's eye twitched. "... ever do that again. It's freaky."

"Oh yeah, just so you know," the program commented, "When we go into battle-mode I really will go monotone."

"Eh?"

* * *

"This is rather serious you know," a male's voice permeated the room, "As soon as he gets up, we're interrogating him."

"That may not be necessary at the moment..." another man's voice sounded, "We could use logical deductions to figure things out."

"Or we could just ask him," a female's voice interjected, "It's much simpler that way."

"Like I was sayin'!" the first male said in response to her suggestion, "Just ask him!"

"Um, Ichigo," the woman's voice stopped him, "Interrogation and simply asking are two different things."

"Uh-uh, Rukia! No they're not," the orange-haired Shinigami grumbled, "They're practically the same thing."

"Now, now," the second man's voice tried to calm them down, "Let's handle this reasonably like adul-"

"Urahara! Stay out of this!" they both yelled at the poor store-owner.

The seemingly middle-aged man sat there and let his mind drift as his eyes watched the scene of two people argue about one of the most trivial things like small children. He sighed. Thinking about the past events, Shin had done some pretty extreme things, saving Aoi's life as the most important and mind-boggling action of all... compared to the event in which the white-clothed boy jumped into the depths itself. In order to prevent the discovery of Shinigami and the spirit world, Kuchiki Rukia felt that they should take protocol and distort the girls memory. The death-gods hadn't really erased it, just changed it around a little and make it appear to be a dream. It was a miracle that the girl had even survived.

Which brought him to that all-important topic.

How did he manage to save her life? From the reports of Ichigo and Rukia, Shin had bitten into a fellow Shinigami's neck, injecting some kind of poison. Right afterwards, he followed in preformed the act in the same fashion without any toxins. So what had happened? The store manager concluded that the boy had excreted stored poisons somewhere in his teeth and needed to get rid of them to make room for something that would save his beloved girlfriend's life. So what was that 'something'?

The owner continued to think. Did that ability to make substances come from beyond the doors of hell? If so, why had he gone there in the first place? Why go somewhere the living would never dare to go? Why go to the place even a death-god is fearful of?

Because he was no ordinary Shinigami.

Urahara marveled at this realization of truth. He remembered the other report made by the two older death gods the other day, when Shin had made the daring move to walk beyond those dreaded gates of damnation. In his acts to slay the demonic beast, Shin shouted the three names of legend.

Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun and its fire... Tsukiyomi, the god of the moon and its reflection of the light... then there was Susanoo, the god of storm and the destruction that it brings.

Each of the three swords had the abilities of the gods themselves.

According to the detailed description of Shin's weapons, the swords, like an Espada's did not change shape, but released the inner power of the name's owners themeselves.

This was very interesting indeed. Of course, the others must have come to this conclusion as well. It sure didn't look like it, with Ichigo sputtering on like the deranged grandfather that he had become, and Rukia scoffing at his stupidity like some old woman... and these actions were completely opposite the young age they appeared to be.

"What's with all the fuss you old man," a younger voice resounded throughout the dining room, "It's so loud I can't sleep."

The three older death gods stopped what they were doing and stared at the holder of the voice: Shin.

* * *

"So the reason why you survived was because of the two great beings of creation?" Urahara questioned.

The silver-haired boy nodded his head.

"So then, why choose you?" Ichigo asked, scratching his head.

"I dunno," Shin muttered, wondering himself. "Must be because I'm just that _badass._"

"Hey!" Ichigo smacked his grandson over the head. "Don't get cocky, kid. You still have years to go when it comes to experience."

"Hn."

In reality, they really had no idea. Shin explained to them his first encounter with the 'voice' in the air that started a conversation with him, saying it was the first soul it came by. So the question was, did Izanagi choose Shin simply because he was the first available? But why would such a powerful deity and his family choose such a measly human boy? What was the reason? It was true that the once brown-haired boy had become a half-human, half-robot, but that still wouldn't change the potential for spiritual energy. Or was it because Ichigo had screwed up and made his grandson some kind of odd Plus soul? Each of these things had the ability to be a plausible answer, but not definite in nature.

Rukia continued her scrutiny of the situation more carefully, using the facts and logic at hand.

"Comparing you to Ichigo though, this shouldn't be possible," Rukia stated, analyzing information, "Ichigo and you both have tremendous amounts of energy. However you are able to use that energy most efficiently, like with kido, despite the fact that it overflows. How would you explain this?"

"I think it's because of my state of body," Shin began to think and describe himself, "I have a brain that has the processing speed of an ultra-augmented super-computer that doesn't need to take breaks... although I like to take them anyway..."

"So you're saying that your brain and body have the ability to make use of your energy, regardless of the difficulty of the sporadic fluctuations of reiatsu?"

"Um... pretty much."

"And so your brain and altered body automatically adjusts to fix the irregularity in control... hmm."

Ichigo stared as the raven-haired senior in the death god business talked with words and grammar he had trouble understanding.

"Could you repeat that?"

"No."

"Oh yeah," Shin wondered aloud, finally asking, "Rukia-san, what kind of dream did you give Aoi?"

"She didn't really change her memories," Ichigo answered for his friend, "She just made the reality into a seemingly scary nightmare."

"Oh." Shin couldn't help but ponder upon the woman's odd and mischievous snickering in the background.

* * *

"Nnn..." A girl's voice filled the air. She, like the silver/brown-haired mystery of her dreams, rubbed her eyes and yawned, letting out a cute squeak.

She looked around, seeing that she was in her own room, in her own bed. Right where she should be.

Aoi looked lay back down, tired from her dream. The pink-haired girl had just experienced the worst realistic nightmare she could possibly have. Not that it was realistic in anyway, it was hardly real at all! She wracked her brain as to why she would have such a dream. In her hellish trap of sleep the blue-eyed beauty was running from a terrible, masked dog-monster that was threatening to eat her. In the last few moments, a samurai prince, who looked like Kira and went by the name of Shin, from the old warring-era of Japan flew into existence and used his triple sword, combination attack that did 9999 damage, gaining only 10 exp.

The girl sat up again and stared at the wall across from her.

_What the fuck am I smoking?_

* * *

"Its 06:30," Shin mentioned to himself. Seeing it was six thirty in the morning, he readied himself to head over to his former house.

Of course, he didn't really 'live' there now, but was welcome to stay anytime he wanted, considering the fact that his parents now knew who he was and the truth to his identity. It would be a pain to keep things secret, but he and his parents would manage. In the meantime, he stayed with Urahara to avoid suspicion that he was the formerly dead high-school teenager. He donned the 'mask' of Kira.

"In another 01:15 hours 'till school starts," KIRA stated bluntly, obviously not amused by the thought of school. "Planning on attending?"

"No," the boy replied, "but I do plan on going to the main office making sure every thing's in order."

"And that would mean?"

* * *

"Aoi!" Her mother called from downstairs. "Come eat breakfast! At this rate you'll be late!"

"Coming!" the pink-haired teenager rushed to get her uniform on and make sure her appearances were acceptable. With the past couple days, she had finally recuperated and was able to handle going back to school. "I'll be there soon!"

Downstairs, Satoru sat in his favorite seat watching the news.

"_The military operation in Al-Qaeda was a partial success as U.S. Marines attempted to take out..._" the woman reporter's voice digitally played with the video recordings of combat displayed on-screen.

"Honey, what's on the news?" Kimiko's voice rang from the kitchen.

"Nothing, just something about the Americans quarreling with terrorists in the Middle-East again."

"Again? How many times is that now? At this rate that area will be obliterated by all those tank shells..."

"Hm," the man struggled to contain a chuckle. It soon died down as he thought of last night's events.

The previous night, the same boy that had saved his daughter's life countless times had shown up _again_, and with his daughter curled up in his arms. Immediately, the father's reaction was to strangle the boy, thinking that he had done something foolish, but his reason and logic came into play as he figured that Aoi had fainted somewhere and the boy had saved her... _again_. As he thought, the boy claimed that he was on his way to see her, but she had collapsed on the road, and he ran to see her status.

Satoru, despite hating the boy, felt grateful.

He heard his daughter running down the stairs, swiftly sliding into the kitchen. Something was offhand.

The older man noticed that his child's movements were much too graceful and energetic. Usually she was sluggish and tired in the morning, reluctant to get out of bed, taking approximately fifteen to thirty minutes to come down... then rush out the door fearing that she would be late. This morning however, she had come down earlier than usual and with precise accuracy in her momentum from the stairs to the kitchen. He wondered if it was just the energy from being with that silver-haired boy...

Ten minutes later, he heard the door open.

"Bye mother, father," After bowing, their pink-haired daughter left, quietly closing the door after Satoru nodded his head in approval.

"Quite energetic... she is today," her mother sighed.

"So she is." The man turned his attention back to the news.

* * *

Walking down the street, Aoi hummed to herself a merry tune, thinking about how her friends would react to her attendance in school today. Of course, she was still hurting inside about Shin, but she felt it was best if she moved on and dealt with the present, instead of letting her mind linger on in the past. Even her friends would recommend that letting her mind wander upon Shin's death would only bring pain and suffering upon her emotions.

She sighed. It wasn't time that allowed her to move on. It was the appearance of another man.

Despite the feeling of shame from growing so close to a stranger after her boyfriends death, Aoi believed it was for her own best interest if she was able to open her heart again to someone and let her wounds from losing losing a loved one be mended by loving another, while being loved in return. He_ did say_ that he _loved_ her...

The problem was, everything was just going on so fast. Even if the boy had saved her and her friends were there to witness the events, how would she explain to them about this affair of love that had sprouted from just a couple rescues and encounters? Aoi was afraid that her friends would somehow feel uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Kin-chan would definitely say that Kira was some guy that saved her ass just to grab it... Kazuhiko would probably glare at him all day until he got tired... Masao would keep his distance and scrutinize him for faults... and Harumi would just hide behind everyone.

Aoi sighed again. This wasn't going to work so well.

* * *

"So this is the way to your school?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we going here again?"

"... for a computer program your pretty obnoxious, you know?"

"You're the one talking to yourself in public..."

_Shut up._

Shin stopped a couple blocks away from the school building and gazed upon the structure. In size, it was large for a school. Many of the schools away from the more dense center of Tokyo had the chance to become larger, as the buildings had more space to take up room. In the city, buildings surrounded the areas, and were forced to be raised vertically in over a small area. Many times, schools closer to the center of the capital existed as a school of elementary, junior high, high school, and sometimes even college... in a single skyscraper. The boy's school at the moment however, was wide and took up space over a large area. It, of course, also had two stories and a basement, and dormitories for exchange students... and a colossal indoor gym/pool.

From the outside, it donned the appearance of a business building, totally professional and without any sense of color. On the inside though, everything was as it should be: a normal, everyday school. The plasma touch-screen board, the desks with built-in screens and electronic notepads, the automatic security... etc. etc. etc.

Nothing 'Kira' couldn't hack. Shin chuckled at that thought. Not that he would cheat... by normal standards.

Walking towards the school, he looked like any other normal person, with his odd hair as an exception, but people would pass it off as hair die. He wore a white, sports-brand sweater, nothing out of the ordinary. It was a little chilly from the wind blowing in the air, so others were bound to be wearing something similar. Underneath, the boy wore a tight, black shirt, slightly stretched from his increased muscle mass. The rest of his attire included black pants with white sneakers. To top it off, he had a black beanie with a white stripe going around the folded edge.

He kind of looked like a panda.

Not that he could really say anything. His old man, Takeshi, sent him the sweater through Urarahara... How did he know that weird store owner anyway? He put that question aside and concentrated on walking forward.

Currently, he was surrounded by many teenagers like himself, although they were in school uniforms and he was in this... ridiculous outfit. He wasn't too fond of pandas, especially after that incident when he was still in fifth grade. He was on a field trip to the zoo and a drunk man had stumbled onto the premises, stinking of alcohol, making the teachers instantly wary of danger. Oddly, the man walked up to the bars of the exhibit the children were currently observing: the Panda exhibit. Strangely, he made some odd noises of grunting and whistling, waving an energy bar in the air. Attracted by curiosity of this new sight, the bears crawled closer to bars, and one even went right up to the man. Shockingly, the drunkard threw his hands through the bars and tried to hug the cuddly animal. At the sight, everyone laughed, but the panda bear found the experience quite revolting and bit the poor guy... but the drunk man bit the bear back!

The event was on the news, making whoever it was the laughingstock of Japan. So much for cute and cuddly... Shin never saw pandas the same way ever again. Of course, Aoi who was at his side loved them still.

Of course they weren't her favorite animal, but that would also be left alone for another time.

Shin kept walking forward, analyzing the DNA and identities of all those who walked into view. He would have to have information on everyone if he were to use the environment and situations to his advantage. Knowledge was the key to power.

He was almost near the gates.

* * *

"And so you know, the show last night, Samurai of the Old, the last episode comes on tonight! Oh my god, last night's was just so amazing! And-"

Harumi just stood there with a smile on her face, listening to the black-haired girl squabble on about her obsession.

"Um, Kin," Kazuhiko tapped on his female friend's shoulder, "Sorry to interrupt your all-important speech about your favorite show, but..."

"What?" the girl snapped, looking towards the direction in which her male friend was pointing. "Huh?" She squinted her eyes to see who it was in the distance. Looking closer, she could see the trademark pink shine in the sun. "Oh my gosh! Is that_** Aoi!?**_" Her voice echoed throughout the area.

* * *

"..._**Aoi!?**_"

The said girl perked

* * *

up at the call of her name. She had a feeling that her friends would be surprised. The pink-haired beauty hadn't shown up in school for a couple days after all, and they weren't expecting her to.

Aoi increased her pace, wanting to meet her friends again.

* * *

Shin's ears picked up the loud shout made by Kin, immediately shifting his attention to his love's name. Where was she?

He looked around, and soon spotted her trod along towards her coterie of friends... their clique. A unique group of people that always hung out together, did everything together, talked about everything together... until he died.

The once brown-haired male let his mind drift on to the times of his past with his friends, remembering that he should stay away from them for now and wait until the time was right...

* * *

"Hm, so it seems you're in a fine mood today," Masao began, "anything on your mind we should know about?" A grin came up on his face.

"N-no," Aoi stuttered while blushing, obviously trying to hide the time she spent with Kira.

"Aw, don't be such a party-pooper," Kin lightly punched her friend in the arm, "It won't hurt to let us in on it."

"Ha, she'll never tell you, Kin," Kazuhiko bugged his partner, "whatever it is must be_ embarrassing_."

Aoi blushed harder at that.

"W-whatever it is, we should wait until she's ready to tell us..." Harumi smiled at her female companion and left it at that.

The four of them smiled and talked on, avoiding the subject of death in all forms, trying to make the atmosphere more enjoyable. However, it was ruined by a shout in the distance.

"Hey!" a rough boy teenager's voice ripped through the air.

* * *

"Hey!"

Shin kept walking, ignoring the yell directed at him.

"I said 'hey' you fool!" A hard hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn to face the perpetrator.

The silver-haired cyborg's eyes came to meet a hard glare of brown, unrelenting in its force. He stared back nonchalantly, not caring about what was going on.

"You bumped me."

"So," the panda-dressed teen stared with no emotion displayed on his face. "What of it?"

"Apologize, fool."

Shin knew exactly what was going on, he had fought with this guy and his friends before plenty of times... not that he ever bothered to figure out the delinquent's name...

"It's too troublesome... fool." A small grin made its way unto 'Kira's' face.

"What?" The brown-eyed boy made a step back. "You bastard!" The fighting troublemaker took a step with his left food and threw his right fist forward, coming in for Shin's left side of the face. Of course, the speed was easy to read, and the superior fighter raised his hand to grab the incoming hand. Upon contact, Shin immediately shoved the hand downward, and pushed it forward, making it go past the other boy's waist and behind him. Shifting his weight and moving to avoid the body, he bent the arm against his opponent's back and force the boy to do a face-plant into the ground. He finished kneeling, using only one hand to keep the boy down... and end the fight.

Others around him had distanced themselves, whispering amongst themselves about the appearance of this new fighting student that literally, single-handedly defeated one of the gang members of the school. He looked around and found himself looking at a pair of familiar blue eyes within the crowd.

He internally scowled.

This was going to get difficult.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the whole time that things took for me to do. Hope this won't happen again – I'll try to get the chapters going, although I have plans for next week too. Just stick with me 'till the end!

And review!!


	15. ACT 02: GWS CH14

Hey, guys, I hope I get back to my regular schedule, despite the hectic time I have already. Enjoy! ... and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_Others around him had distanced themselves, whispering amongst themselves about the appearance of this new fighting student that literally, single-handedly defeated one of the gang members of the school. He looked around and found himself looking at a pair of familiar blue eyes within the crowd._

_He internally scowled._

_This was going to get difficult._

* * *

_Er._

Shin looked into Aoi's eyes and internally frowned, but gave her a slight smile as to not make her worried. After all, it wouldn't help if he beat someone up and glared at her like some bully. That wouldn't be very nice...

His train of thought was broken by a teacher's voice in the distance.

"Oi! You!" A middle-aged man ran into the center, right up to the sixteen year old, as if he was the perpetrator. "What are you doing?"

"I was defending myself," 'Kira' gave a cold stare into the older man's eyes. From what he could see, the man was getting pissed.

"And you come and cause a commotion here!? Come with me!" Grabbing the silver-haired teen's arm, he tried to drag the boy, but found that he couldn't.

"Hm," Shin smirked to himself, knowing that no one was strong enough to actually drag him of all people. However, he knew that it would cause problems if he didn't do as the teacher said, so he got up on his own accord and walked, knowing that he was headed to the principals office. As he walked through the gates, he noticed the eyes of his former friends follow him with intensity as he passed, knowing that they would have mixed feelings about his appearance and existence.

* * *

"I understand you were upset, but why not try to solve the problem by talking, Oyata-kun? Why fight?"

Currently, Kamiwa Kira and Oyata Sadao sat in the Maehara-sensei's, office, the room of the principal himself as a result of their conflict, with Koseki-sensei, the man who brought them here, behind them.

"Tch," the black-haired boy looked away, unwilling to meet the principals eyes.

"Boy! Look at your teacher when he speaks to you!" Koseki raised his hand to smack the student, but his superior raised his own to stop the teacher from causing more violence. Knowing that the delinquent would be unresponsive and stubborn, Maehara turned to the other, mysterious looking boy. Observing the teenager, he made notice of the died hair and bright blue eyes. Although the eyes screamed 'foreigner', the skin itself told him 'Japanese'. He wondered if the teen in front of him was a half.

"Now, Kira-kun, I'm glad that you acted out of self-preservation and didn't hurt the other in conflict. I see that in my records your originally here for transfer?"

The other teacher had a surprised expression on his face.

"Yes," 'Kira' began in a sturdy, flowing voice. Deep, but only slightly deeper that his original voice. He couldn't risk letting anyone know that he was Shin in anyway... not that they would suspect it. _Shin_ was supposed to be dead... and the dead don't just come back to life.

"So, you come from abroad, having traveled the world? Interesting. And I understand that you are sixteen, a junior. However, our curriculum is already in progress and I don't believe that your former school's teachings would match-"

"Don't worry about it, sir," Shin cut him off, although with much respect in his voice, "Even if i was home-schooled, I believe I can manage. My father believes in me, and I don't plan to let him down." _Father believes in me my ass._ Shin mentally smirked. _Dr. Archibald or my old man could care less, as long as I stay alive and pass. Although it wouldn't help if I still got those average grades. I'm going to have to rely on KIRA._

Despite the ridiculous outfit the boy wore, the principal found that one statement made him look more prestigious in his eyes. Even Koseki had to agree with the principals thoughts.

"Very well, you will be transferred into 11-B2. A student there..." the older man's voice drifted off and a sad look came over his eyes, "well, he just left."

"I see."

Kira steeled himself, knowing that there would be hardships ahead. He was a different person in their eyes, a stranger. He was not the Shin that had attended the school since the beginning of high school with his friends. He was the _new guy._

"Well, it's best if we get you acquainted with the school grounds as fast as possible. After all, you are attending classes _tomorrow_."

"Oh," Shin forgot about that. It was three days ago that the Doctor came to his house, revealing everything to his parents and stating that he would be a 'merc' and student at the same time. "So, I should go around..."

"Yes, I will have Koseki-san lead you around the school. Koseki, if you may..." The older teacher motioned his hand.

"Yes sir," the man immediately opened the door, waiting for the silver-haired one to follow.

* * *

"... and this is hallway Eleven-B, where the Junior-B Division is located. All classes in this hallway is marked 11B and then a special number designating their homeroom. This is the area where your homeroom is located."

"I see..." 'Kira' looked to be interested the whole time, but inside he was already bored. He knew where everything was, so it became a rather dull experience for him.

So far, he had seen the gym, pool, cafeteria, teacher's areas, auditorium, an emergency bunker in the basement, and other areas required for cleaning duties. After that, he was shown club rooms, and other places designated for teacher-student activities, including the after-school programs and curriculum for poorly behaving students. With those areas cleared, Shin was shown the rest of the high school: the classrooms. These included each grade's meeting rooms and lounges, and each letter division was placed in the school. He had finally been shown the place of his former homeroom... the room with the rest of his friends inside.

"Oh, look at the time!" Koseki blurted out, "It's almost time for lunch!"

"Is it?" Shin put on a face of question.

"Yes, I did tell you the schedule, right?"

"Yes, school begins at 8:15 AM, and classes go on until lunch time, which starts at 12:15 PM, and students are given approximately 50 minutes to eat and rest. Classes continue until 3:40 PM, where the after-school activities begin and end around 6:15 PM. The school then hosts a cram-school course for those of poor marks in academics, while others with behavior problems take remedial courses to control their actions. Those not involved or excused are allowed to go home."

"Well, said," the teacher gave a nod in delight that the new student had memorized the schedule so quickly. "Well, do you think your way around the school well enough?"

"Yes," the boy said, emotionless as ever. Despite the bland behavior, Shin felt that as 'Kira' he would have to put on the impression that he was an 'elite', regardless of his dressing attire. It did it's job as the teachers he met saw him with a sense of approval and respect.

"Well, I'm going to be late for my own lunch, so I hope you'll forgive me for leaving you to your own. Later kid."

With that, the older man ran off to meet with the other teachers now standing in the hallway, making their way towards the teacher's lounge... leaving Shin standing in the hallway with a rather stunned look on his face. What was he supposed to do now? Thinking about it, a fabulous idea popped into his head. He ran to the nearest stairway, and climbed upwards.

* * *

Aoi stood in line, waiting for the students in front of her to finish receiving their meal, so that she in turn, would get hers.

"Hmhmhm..." she hummed, patiently biding her time. Eventually she reached the counter, and ordered her meal, grasping the tray that the lunch lady handed her. Upon receiving her lunch, the pink-haired girl quickly walked out of the room, making her way towards the roof.

Everyday, everyone of her close friends would go up and eat together, talking about the day, tests, or just talk about what needed to be said. Today was no different, only... She bit her lower lip as she was reminded painfully that her boyfriend wouldn't be there. But was she to be upset? She had a new 'admirer' in her life. Someone who had been there for here from the moment she laid eyes on him... even on the same level of commitment and care as Shin.

Aoi halted her steps in the middle of the hallway with groups of students passing her by on both directions.

Were the two of them, Kira and her, going out?

Thinking about it, both of them knew that they loved each other... but neither of them had really touched upon the topic of dating.

Where they a couple or not? The blue-eyed girl suddenly had a burning desire to ask the silver-haired boy as soon as she saw him the next time.

Regaining her senses, Aoi continued to walk up the steps, knowing that she would get there before the others would. Smiling, she thought of how Kin and Kazuhiko would both react to her and Kira's 'confessions'. They would probably be speechless, with Harumi blushing madly in the background. Masao... well, she could only guess what her male friend would do. He was sort of hard to read at times. Even if they ended up hating him... she would still love him.

Cheering up at the thought, she opened the door and practically skipped in a merry manner onto the concrete tiles. Aoi sat down right on the roof, near the fenced ledge and opened up the package containing her meal: rice and other sides. It was a plain meal, but it did the job of providing the nutrients needed to go on through the day. A small smile appeared on her face as she grasped a slice of sausage with her chopsticks and grasped it with her front teeth.

_Wait a minute._ The girl thought about this morning's little excursion. _Why was Kira here today?_

Aoi thought about the possibilities as slight frown appeared, letting the piece of pork roll around in her mouth.

She had no awareness of the figure lurking above her on the edge of the fence.

* * *

"My lunch doesn't look so good... Trade!" Kin thrust her package in front of Kazuhiko, who immediately put on a dumb look.

"Huh? You bought it, you eat it!" he kept his lunch close, afraid that the crazy blond would steal his lunch. "Stay away!" The boy ran away, obviously aiming to get to the roof first and eat it before Kin could prod him into giving her some.

"Uh... Ano..." Harumi wondered why Kin bugged Kazuhiko so much. It didn't really help each other to annoy one another... couldn't they all just get along? Before the brown haired girl could do anything about it, the golden-haired girl chased after her blue-haired friend.

"Leave them be," Masao held the shy girl back, "We'll all talk about it when we get to the roof..."

So, He and Harumi just stood there as their two friends ran off without them.

* * *

_I was a little surprised to see him..._ Aoi thought to herself. _But I'm glad. That means he didn't leave Japan! I'll still get to see him! But... why was he at school?_

She wondered about that. Then jumped at the realization.

_There's no other answer! He must be coming to attend here!_

The pink haired girl's mind jumped from place to place experiencing mixed emotions of joy and excitement. However, her figure sulked as she looked down at the ground, stopping her movements and only fiddling with her chopsticks.

"He'd go that far just to see me?" her little frown had become visible again as she pondered on that for a bit.

"Yeah, why not?" a voice came from above her.

"Huh!?" Aoi whipped her head around as her own blue eyes met another's, although the person who owned them had now dropped down and met her face to face. "K-Kira! W-what are you d-doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He gave her a grin, making her shiver in anticipation. His glowing sapphire eyes drew her in, and bit by bit, their faces had become only an inch apart.

"A-a-and... w-w-what w-would that b-be?" She was shaking from embarrassment of having him up so close. The pink-haired girl tried to pull away, but failed to do so. She couldn't help it! It was his fault for acting... so confident and... so damn... sexy. "I-I..."

"Well, I'd love to just take you somewhere and get _intimate_... but I'm going to be the 'good boy' and sit here like a gentleman," a little chuckle rose to his throat that he tried to hold in.

Aoi could feel her face heat up and redden at his bold 'hint'.

_This isn't good! He's getting all the points! How will I be able to face him now that he's getting to show off all good parts while I'm sitting here doing nothing!? I have to do something!_ A mental scowl flashed within Aoi's mind.

"So, after school would you like to g- Mmph!?" 'Kira' was cut off as Aoi grabbed him by the face and pulled him into a passionate kiss; the kind that got one's fire going... leaving his eyes wide open.

She didn't care. She could care less what happened. She forgot all about the points, the place, the situation. All she thought of was the connection that the both of them felt through that interlocking of lips... the action that allowed them to feel as one.

Aoi went for the bold move.

* * *

_Oh my god._ Shin's mind was racing through thoughts like a teenager late for his first date. _Since when did she become this assertive!?_

"Since you started hitting on her," the program inside his head mentioned.

_Oh god... I think I'm gonna go crazy..._

"You already are, with all these voices in your head..."

Damn-mm!? W-what?

The silver-haired cyborg felt an odd sensation in his mouth that sent a tingling feeling throughout his spine.

_H-h-h-her... her... her... _**tongue!?**

* * *

Aoi had slipped her tongue inside his mouth and was slipping it around his, moaning in the process.

Yes, she had daringly inserted her tongue into another man's mouth... something she was only willing to do with the love of her life... and he was sitting right in front of her. She could care less what he thought. In fact, she found it to feel good... it sent a flash of heat throughout her lower body, and drove her insane. As a matter of fact, she could feel him tense up, and mentally grinned that she caught him off guard.

Unexpectedly, she heard a creak as the door leading downstairs opened from behind her.

A panicked thought zipped through both lover's minds.

* * *

_Oh shit._

* * *

She had forgotten all about the fact that her friends would be up here in a few minutes to eat with her!

_What should I do!? Oh no! If they all find out! Maybe they're all here already!? Did someone arrive alone!? Who is it!?_

Unfortunately, Aoi had frozen with shock, and was unable to turn and find out if her friends were really there.

* * *

Shin could see from the corner of his eye that Kazuhiko stood at the door, stiff as a log.

Damn. From this position, he could tell that anyone could see and tell that Aoi was the one who had initiated the action... but maybe if he shifted they would both be... No. Either way. She was going to get teased and gossiped about. He had to changed the situation before anyone else would come. He would have to play his cards right, hoping that Kazuhiko would play along.

Abruptly he threw his arms around his princess and bent forward, making her bend back... which made it look like he had been the one to grab and kiss her from the start, having forced himself on her. Aoi immediately opened her eyes with surprise, not expecting the sudden turn of events.

Instantly the door opened as three more people entered the fray.

Shin hoped to the gods within him that this would turn out the way he had hoped.

* * *

Kin and Masao stared... well, Kin seemed to glare at Kira who was now all over Aoi.

And Harumi? She could only gape. The girl had witnessed Aoi kiss two people. First, she saw her kiss Shin with such passion. Now, she was seeing her kissed back in the same manner by a different man. Harumi could only let her mind wonder what the hell was going on... just as her friends next to her were thinking.

It was silent as the four watched the two lovers locked in kiss for a full minute.

A minute became two minutes. Two became four. Four became eight.

"Alright! What the hell is going on!?" Kin shouted.

* * *

_There's my cue._

Shin slowly pulled back to give the girl time to recuperate from the force of the love that was packed into that long kiss.

He held her close, raising his head to meet the ice-stare of the blond... Yoshihara Kin.

"I know you saved her- _rear_ so many times, but don't think you could go and just take something just 'cause you want it!" She pointed her finger at him accusingly.

Aoi turned her head, trying to object to the inferences hurled at the one who was holding her.

"No- I-"

* * *

Motoyama Kazuhiko could only stare in wonder.

Why had the silver-haired one set himself up for assault like that? The boy knew that he, Kazuhiko, had witnessed the true situation first and was bound to tell the truth... would he though?

Thinking about it, a grin came unto his face as he figured out what was going on. This Kira was depending on _him_ to keep his mouth shut and play along. That way his lover wouldn't receive the shame of having to face her friends about this... affair.

However, at this rate it was going to get ugly.

* * *

"What!?" Kin could only let her jaw drop as the question registered in her brain. "Aoi! Are you going to let him do this to you?"

"Y-yes."

That was an eye-opener for all of them. Kin could see the blush on the girl's face before she hid it in the sapphire-eyed teen's white sweater.

"H-how!? Just because he saved you from some incidents!"

"No," a quiet voice permeated the air, causing everyone to turn their attention to the holder of the shy voice: Harumi.

"What?" Masao could only ask. "What's a no?"

"T-that day... I saw Aoi and Shin k-kissing in the morning before school... in the same passionate way... Aoi seems to be very a-assertive when it comes to things she w-wants... most likely she was k-kissing him like that before we got here. I-isn't that right... Kazuhiko?" She turned a questioning eye toward the blue-haired boy, who could only turn away to avoid answering.

"No way!" Kin cried out. She turned to face her pink-haired friend. "Aoi! Answer me! Is this true!?"

Aoi could only keep her face hidden in Kira's chest.

"After living your life with him... how could you betray Shin like that!" tears formed around her eyes.

The girl tensed as the words struck her most sensitive subject, and she began to shake as her own tears started to wet Kira's sweater.

"Stop," Shin didn't like where this was going. He needed to end it now before it worsened. "This isn't going to help anyone by yellin-"

"You!" Kin shook her finger at him. "You were Shin's friend! I saw you at the funeral! How could you! Taking his girlfriend like that!"

"You're an insensitive bitch," he said out loud.

"W-what?" the blond couldn't believe that he said it so bluntly.

"I said... you're an insensitive bitch."

It hurt him to call one of his best friends a name in such a hurtful way, but he had to do it in order to stop before the tension could rise any higher. It was thick enough that it was getting hard for even him to handle.

"Let me say something," 'Kira' began. "You knew that Aoi had hurt inside when... _he_ died. So, she finds someone that's willing to be with her to alleviate her pain. Just as she's willing to forget and start over what the hell do you do? You open her wounds again. That's why your an insensitive bitch."

Kin and the others had nothing to say. All this time, they themselves had been hurt by Shin's death as well, but never really considered how much Aoi had been hurting. They let silence take its toll.

Several minutes passed by, as Aoi's crying subsided, and everyone seemed to be drained of energy. The only one holding up their front was Kira... and he was keeping it strong for the woman in his arms.

* * *

Shin mentally sighed.

"You're a manipulative bastard," KIRA stated.

_Shut up._

"Airborne vehicle inbound."

_What!?_

* * *

Shin snapped his head upwards, and his former friends followed suit. Even Aoi finally pulled her face away to look at what he was looking at.

In the far distance within the sky, a black, military-brand helicopter was flying towards them, making the whirring noise that distinguished it from any other aircraft. It was the JMDF: Japanese Military Defense Force, the military division that brought on the Special Assault Team of Japan, dealing with internal and external forces of the country... mostly dealing with crime and national threats.

They wondered why such a helicopter had made its way here.

But Shin knew. He knew he was probably involved in some way.

* * *

"This is Charlie Bird, calling in to Alpha and Bravo. We are approaching target."

"_This is HQ, your transmission was re-routed. You will be talking to the translator for the American team administrator, Dr. Archibald, when it hits 13:30 _(1:30 PM)_._"

"Sir?"

"_The Tango is under his division._"

"Roger, although he looks like a civilian."

"_Don't be fooled. From what the Doctor has to say, he's Grade-A material. Heh._"

"Sir, there's a snag. There seems to be civilians surrounding him. It looks like one of them... is in his arms?"

"_... Oh?_"

"Depending on the situation this mission info may be exposed to the public. Your orders?"

"_Does it look like they're friendly?_"

"I can't really tell... it looks like there's a girl in his arms... eh... facing him."

"_Assuming they are his _friends, _you will carry out the mission as planned. We will use him to tell them not to reveal info. We can't _not_ use this opportunity given to us by the Americans. We need him._"

"Ten-Four. Proceeding as scheduled," the helicopter pilot turned off his radio and turned to the passengers behind him. The soldiers from the 'Black-Hand' incident were aboard. "Alright, Delta One! Deploy the package!"

"Done!" With that, the armored soldier dropped a large, black gym-bag down to the roof of the school.

* * *

Shin watched as the bag dropped into the middle of the group.

"Hey!" a man's voice from the chopper called out to him.

Shin carefully pushed Aoi away and stood up.

"You! With the silver-hair! You are now Delta Three! You're working with us!"

The other teenagers looked at the boy in confusion.

"You have five minutes to put on that armor and get your ass up here!"

With that, a rope was lowered down from the side of the aircraft.

Wasting no time, Shin ran into the janitor's shack on the roof and began to change. He knew that pausing would cause problems and give his former friends time to ask questions... and he especially didn't want to have to answer to Aoi at the moment. It would reveal everything. He needed time to think it out.

As he began to dress, he saw that he was given a standard military-issued combat uniform, a plain black set of a buttoned collared shirt and pants. Although the boots and armor were something different. It was a faded, dirty metal, he hadn't seen this kind of armor in normal excursions between military personnel and criminals. Normally it was just a bullet-proof vest, some joint pads and a helmet. However, inside the bag was metal padding and armor for his chest, joints, and even limbs. The boot was large and had movable pads in the front that went up to cover his shins. Finally was the helmet.

Looking at the helmet, the cyborg noted that it would cover his entire face like a mask, with two glowing blue eye-pieces.

He put it on.

The Helmet's targeting features started up and linked with his internal HUD.

"What is this?" Shin thought aloud.

"Probably a design of the Doctor's," KIRA stated, "You'll have to ask him. For now, I'll give you a shortened list of some specs."

"Okay, give 'em to me."

"The metal is not as bulky as high-ballistic armor, but the density of titanium and platinum is far higher than what you see in advanced CQB (Close Quarters Battle) armor. It should be able to withstand a couple rounds of .50 cal."

Shin whistled. For many decades, the .50 cal could and still would penetrate even the most dense of materials. If you were to encounter a turret loaded with it even in a city full of buildings, chances were, not one of those buildings could protect you from the onslaught of the fifty caliber bullet.

"Your five minutes is nearly up."

* * *

As Shin ran out of the room, he could see that the chopper had now lowered itself to about two meters away from the roof. As wind blew around everywhere, his former clique of friends tried to keep the dust out of their eyes. Running up to Aoi, he handed her the bag.

"Hold on to it for me!" He shouted over the loud 'chopping' noise of the helicopter.

He jumped up to the aircraft, grabbing the ledge of the opening. Hands of other soldiers pulled him in, surprised that he could jump so high.

Immediately, they left the area.

* * *

"W-what just happened?" Kin asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had befallen them.

Aoi stared into the direction in which the helicopter flew off, her eyes never leaving that speck in the sky.

Who was Kira?

* * *

A/N: I have nothing to say. Just REVIEW, and in due time, all will be answered.

Note: The armor that was given to Shin is inspired by Carmine in Gears of War, by Epic Games. No, I don't own it. And no, it doesn't look the same. I just said it was inspired by it. The thing is I needed a way to cover Shin's face in combat, along with other _modified soldiers_, and found that this would be a good/cool solution. (I gave you a spoilerrrr!!)


	16. ACT 02: GWS CH15

Sorry, getting busier, and my summer will become only busier still. I'll try to work on my fic. (I'm not just a writer, I also read other people's work and think about personal reviews to further enhance my writing ability.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_"W-what just happened?" Kin asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had befallen them._

_Aoi stared into the direction in which the helicopter flew off, her eyes never leaving that speck in the sky._

_Who was Kira?_

* * *

"Okay kid, your role in this is special. Currently, there was a military prison breakout in the outskirts of of this metro-city. With the overwhelming of officers on-site, the prisoners gained access to weapons and organized themselves, and are heading towards the central, imperial tower- which means they plan on taking over the government. The news reporters are already on the case, so this suit," Delta One tapped the top of Shin's helmet, " is the Doctor's prototype armor for you to cover your face and bio-data. We had other models for similar cases, but the Doc said it was the best suited for a cyborg... which is you."

"I'm working on fully synchronizing with the armor, but there are some limitations to what this suit can handle," Shin explained, "But I'll try to make it work for the mission."

" 'Atta boy," Delta One chuckled, "Well, it's still hard to recognize you as someone so young under that armor. The rest of us will have to get used to it."

Shin looked around at the other passengers in the helicopter. The only other soldier was Delta Two, who looked very sick at the moment.

"Hey," the masked soldier called out, "You alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Two seemed to be slightly shaking and couldn't look him in the eye. Shin made note of that.

"You're the sniper right?"

Delta Two froze.

"I read your mission files through my hacking ability. You have nothing to worry about."

"B-but-"

"But bullshit. If you're going to freeze up now because of what you think you did, then you should resign, but right now, there's criminals out there about to wreck your country and you're being a coward. Think about it soldier."

The sniper gripped his weapon tightly, then relaxed as a face of resolve made itself known to the other two men.

Delta One carefully eyed the 'new guy'. His perception of things was really sharp, that he could tell on his own. But how would he react on the battlefield? These weren't your average prisoners. These were the hardcore, thoroughly trained soldiers and rejects of the Japanese militaristic forces. Not only that, the prisoners would probably be willing to use any underhanded tactics to win... would one super-soldier make the difference against hundreds? The veteran soldier would have to witness it for himself.

"There's one more thing," the senior of the group mentioned, "The Doctor had military weapon designers come into the division to create more prototype weapons for you to use... and eventually the entire force."

"What kind of weapons?" the cyborg inquired from behind his mask.

"Well..." the leader tried to remember. "There's a whole range of weapons, but mainly they're meant for close quarters combat. However they're all flexible in terms of range or purpose."

"I see."

Shin had KIRA do a quick scan of all the inmates in the prison. Each prisoner had specific data and biometrics that helped the silver-haired soldier understand what he was up against. Of course, he wasn't fighting by himself, but he would definitely be the 'push' factor, and he planned on doing his job efficiently and effectively.

This was going to cause a lot of deaths...

... meaning for more Shinigami to do their work.

* * *

Aoi looked down at her history test.

She sighed. It wasn't hard, she loved history. But at the moment, it all seemed so boring and trivial to her. Thinking about it, her past week and a half had been terrible. It was full of pain, surprises, and shock. All because of the death of Shin... and the appearance of Kira. It was very intriguing to her, how the whole situation came to be. As soon as her first love died, another appeared right after... at the funeral of her first even. How had this happened? The blue-eyed girl kept dawdling on the thought over and over again.

Finishing her test, she hit 'Finished' on her touch pad with her Stylus pen and waited patiently as the software loaded her grade.

Another perfect score, a hundred. She put her hand on her cheek and shifted her weight to it.

_I wonder if I can score a prefect on life..._

* * *

"Alright Delta Squad, we're entering the zone – weapons hot!"

"Roger, move!" Delta one waved his hand to order his only two men to deploy.

As bullets hit the side of the chopper, the three men hopped out and took advantage of the sandbags placed to hold against enemy gunfire. They backed themselves into it, next to the other squads: Alpha and Bravo, each with a full squad of four men, unlike the lacking Delta Squad.

"Why do we have one less member?" Shin called over the bullets.

"It's because we gave two of our members to make up for theirs!" Delta One shouted. Formerly, there were four members, but because Alpha and Bravo had lost their members, Delta had two members transferred over... as a trade-off for having the cyborg. Fair trade.

Turning to Alpha and Bravo, he yelled again to make his voice heard. A small explosion hit the sandbags, causing dirt and debris to fly over the edge, covering some of the soldiers. "Alpha One! Do you have the package!?"

"Yeah! Confirmed! I'm passing it to D3!"

"Alright, Delta Three! Grab it!"

Trying not to get hit by the bullets, Shin thrust his hand forward through the gap between the two and grasped the handle of the silver case. It was definitely heavy, even for him. Opening the metal casing, he found the prototype weapons inside. A Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, Assault Rifle and Pistol.

They weren't your average weapons though. From what he could see, these were designed differently, made differently, and meant to be used by someone different.

"Okay!" Alpha One shouted, obviously knowing the specs on the weapons before Shin. "The rifle there is an extreme-range sniper rifle! It's lightweight and easy to use. Like all the other weapons there, it's made to link up with your helmet, and ultimately your HUD! The machine gun is an all purpose machine gun, made to endure brutal conditions, but it has one _**important**_ feature! It -"

Another two explosions shook the soldiers, causing the Alpha team member to briefly stop his explanation.

"- It's ammo is interchangeable! It can use any assault rifle ammo so take that into consideration as you go and spray bullets into enemies! You can pick up their remaining ammo after you've finished them!"

The armored cyborg nodded, filtering out the leader's voice.

"And for the pistol, its a manual, but fast fire! The triggers been toyed with and cartridge goes in the front there! Yeah there!" He pointed as Shin turned his pistol upside down to see a small area in front of the trigger where the ammo box went. No wonder the thing was huge for a hand-gun. "As for the shotty...

... it's a -"

_**Boom!**_

The ground shook as the land in front of the soldiers' cover blew up.

"- It's a lever-action six-gauge! **Rocket!**"

The men scattered to find cover as an incoming projectile instantly obliterated the bags full of sand, having burnt anything in its explosion of power.

"_Damnit!_" Bravo One's voice came in over the radio. "_Who would've thought they'd have gotten their hands on a rocket launcher?_"

"_Got info from HQ guys, Evac of civilians from this area is almost done. We can go in weapons free,_" Alpha One reported.

"Weapons free confirmed," Delta One said aloud for his team to hear. Having split up, their team needed to get going to the next rendezvous point. Alright coordinates... The leader noticed that his newest member was still holding the weapons case. He then noticed the odd shaping of the back of the boy's armored suit.

"Come here," he motioned to Delta Three.

Taking the rather unwieldy case, he opened it and took out the sniper rifle and observed its odd shape near the bolt. Taking notice of the two odd shapes, he put two and two together. _**Click! **_The sniper rifle locked in place, and he pulled it out again as the sound was heard. He pulled out the shotgun and the assault rifle, checking those too. They both clicked in.

"Well, soldier," the leading Delta member looked at the armor's unique function. "Looks like you can carry more than one weapon at a time, thanks to your suit."

Handing him the pistol, Delta One watched as the cyborg clicked it into a similar spot on his right leg.

"I feel like some video game character..." Shin sighed.

"You look like one, heheh." Delta One and Two both laughed at that one.

* * *

"Time is up."

Many students groaned as the teacher declared the end of the test.

"Now, now..." he suddenly stopped as the computer as his desk made beeping noises, indicating an emergency alert. Upon opening the message, he gasped. "Oh!"

The teenagers now sitting in class now diverted their attention to the man who was now looking at his screen like a deranged maniac.

The history teacher ran to the classroom front, touch-screen control panel and turned it on, switching to digital television. He frantically switched the channels as they all showed the same thing: gun fire and soldiers running about. He found a decent news Japanese news channel and let it run... running out for the principal as he left the screen on for the students to watch.

"Today in Northern Tokyo-to, JWN reporters are sending us live feed of soldiers using countermeasures to subdue hostiles from a prison breakout. Currently as we have found out through supported intelligence groups, the prisoners are attempting to take over our central government."

Gasps and whispers arose from the students in the room. Aoi was the most interested... knowing that Kira was in there somewhere.

"As of 1:45 PM, a special American-Japanese division was deployed in the area to enter and eliminate the threat. This is the video." The screen darkened as a rushed tape was viewed, and the students could tell it was recorded on the spot, and real.

As the bullets flew over their head, soldiers were shouting to another over the loud noises. One that caught many eyes was the special guy in the suit... and a masked helmet. It wasn't something you saw everyday... many of the guys in the class instantly thought that the military was now accepting video games as armor design. Funny. But it wasn't funny. Explosions and dirt were all around, and the camera shook massively as the crewmen tried to get a clear picture. As a rocket exploded, the soldiers split up and head into nearby buildings to take cover as the second one came.

Aoi's heart was beating fast. Shin was there. He was there in his suit of armor, ready to fight for everyone.

She could see his eyes from within her mind. The eyes that would pierce the world.

* * *

"Delta Three, you gonna have to take the risky part, seeing you're a cyborg and all. Delta Two and I will go up and try to snipe the enemy from above. But you... you need to go back out there and take out that rocket-man. We can't get a good angle from another building."

"I'm on it," with that Shin bolted out the door, ducking as he sprinted to what was left of the sand barracks.

Using his momentum to slide, he quickly slammed his back into cover, facing away from the enemy as he let out a grunt from impact. Using KIRA to his advantage, he whipped out his assault rifle and began to mow down enemy soldiers, satisfied as he saw the red dots on his radar disappear. Then he heard the rocket coming.

* * *

The students of the school were now on the edge of their seats, excited as they saw the cool, lone soldier jump into the firefight and take out many of the 'bad guys' by himself. When the rocket was fired, they all let out a reaction of surprise as the masked warrior was able to barrel roll away into another section of safety.

* * *

_**Crack!**_

Shin felt the heat of the sniper's barrel smoking as he peered over his shoulder and saw a headless body and a heavy-arms equipment fall out from a window.

Thanks to KIRA, he pulled it off flawlessly. Perfect.

* * *

"_**OH!**_" Many of the boys in the high school classrooms jumped out of their seats and gave a shout of surprise as the unknown hero just pulled off a real-live headshot... and he wasn't even looking at his enemy. Some girls even screamed as they unexpectedly saw the skull explode into pieces as the brains flew into various directions. It was too crazy, definitely like some video game.

Even Aoi and the other reserved people had to agree. But it was going to far. What these boys didn't understand was that war was war, not some game to be played.

People were dying...

Even now, as they sat watching, people were dying while fighting each other to death.

The students were more shocked to see the camera turn and see a man rush them.

* * *

Shin didn't miss it. He saw the lone prisoner charge the civilian cameraman and his crew.

Wasting no time, he ran at full speed towards the man, approaching from the side.

Using his leg, he tripped the man using his left foot and used his left hand to take the man's right shoulder and flip him in mid air, then pushed the attacker down to the ground on his back, facing up. Too shocked from the surprise-attack, the enemy soldier was unable to do anything. Shin showed no mercy, keeping the man down with his right knee, he used his titanium-armored knuckles to bash the offender's head in, spraying blood onto the camera.

* * *

Kin, Kazuhiko, Masao, and Harumi sat in 11-B1, unable to react... they were too shocked. This was Kira?

Even Aoi was surprised. Next door to her friends, she sat in her classroom watching this brutally terrifying soldier 'neutralize' a threat. How was this seemingly cold soldier the warm-hearted Kira she had met a few days ago?

Or did he hurt to kill, only doing what he did because he had to?

But to take things to that kind of extent... Aoi was confused, not knowing what to think. She could only sit and watch what was displayed on the large screen in front of her.

* * *

"Delta Three, reporting to HQ. I have civilians here for extraction."

* * *

Aoi recognized that voice. It was definitely Shin.

So he was the soldier she hoped he wouldn't be.

* * *

Running across the field, he couldn't shake the cameraman following him. Although he told them to sit tight and wait, the man and his crew just tagged along, despite the danger ahead.

Currently, he was heading to the heart of the enemy force, hoping that he would be able to take out the leader and end this hopeless mess.

Slipping his assault rifle to his left hand, Shin pulled out the handy-dandy pistol and began to fire away. It was relatively easy to shoot as bullets flew out faster than he could say 'I see your head'. With the combination of easy trigger-pulling and his increased reaction-time fingers, he was able to fire it nearly as fast as his assault rifle.

* * *

The students observed the camera's zoom-in feature at work.

The masked, armor-suited soldier, obviously, was unwillingly followed by the persistent cameraman as the guy told the crew to 'get the hell back there and wait for the chopper'.

Right now, however, the students were mesmerized by the ability of this new fighter. His finger blurred as the clips emptied in a matter of seconds, and his reloading was even faster... like with all his other guns. Everything the guy did was a fast movement or a blur, too fast for even the camera to catch.

Suddenly, the soldier turned and aimed his gun behind them, taking on a stance to prepare for enemy fire.

The camera's vision and the other men's heads moved to where the soldier pointed, but nothing was there. When they turned back, the soldier wasn't there either.

He had run away from them.

* * *

"During that exclusive live video, our camera crew lost track of this... outstanding soldier in the midst of battle. Clearly, that is not Japanese military armor, nor is it American standard issue for any of their troops. We can only conclude that this was a joint production of a soldier. Until we have more information to provide, it is a vague subject to follow," the woman concluded.

"So you're saying that both troops were involved in providing this mysterious soldier?" a man at on the news asked.

"That is most likely, but once again, not guaranteed."

"Well, from the video, I can see the soldier was heading to the center of the prisoners."

"Think he can take 'em out?"

"Well, I personally believe he is an extraordinary soldier. His capabilities displayed on the battlefield were just beyond veteran, but once again, our news group is working on uncovering the facts."

"Yes... oh, they found him."

Immediately, the screen went back to the live camera feed.

* * *

Shin was currently under heavy fire as some turrets were targeted on his position. The concrete barriers provided some comfort from the speeding projectiles, but they were beginning to fall apart.

He stood up and threw a grenade.

As the explosion killed several men, and stunned some, the silver-haired teen took out his shotgun, clicking the rifle into its place.

Several tangos attempted to shoot him from over the barrier, but he crouched and thrust his shotgun over his head. With KIRA's help again, he was able to 'see' his enemies, shooting at them accurately. The powerful six-gauge blew their innards to bits. It was a bit odd to hold the shotgun. He was so used to seeing pump-actions in the military, never expecting to see something like this in his hands. The lever action was easier and faster for him to handle though. It definitely took less time to quickly raise and lower the lever with a flick of his wrist than to thrust and pull forwards and backwards with his entire arm.

* * *

Even the boys let out moan of disgust as several men were blown to bloody chunks of meat when the masked soldier let loose the firepower of his shotgun. One girl even ran out of the room to throw up. Similar sounds of puking could be heard in other classrooms. Aoi realized then that the entire school – or at least the entire high school was watching.

* * *

More men dead.

Less men to get in the way.

Shin raced against time to put down this rebellion of inmates. He needed to finished things before the innocent civilians around the corner got hurt... or even worse: killed.

Rushing into the crowd of enemies, he switched the lever up and began to reload as he ran. Then ducking to down to decrease the chances of being hit, he fired away, making many of the men run in the opposite direction, clearing they way for him. To prevent them from closing in from behind, Shin dropped a grenade every few seconds to keep his rear free.

He needed to find how to stop this.

The people fighting were dying.

Prisoners were dying.

Soldiers were dying.

People would die.

His squad mates would die.

His classmates would die.

His parents would die.

His friends would die.

Aoi would die.

Everyone would die.

With the thought of people he cared about dying, Shin yelled as he was being swarmed by the massive groups of prisoners who had surrounded to kill him.

* * *

A/N: Uh... well. Aren't you glad I end in cliffhangers? Now you'll never know the end! Mwahahahah. jk. Send some reviews guys. I know this chapter was a bit short, but I need reviews. They're like my fuel for writing more chapters. Review! Review! Review!


	17. ACT 02: GWS CH16

Sorry guys, for being late - but my schedule's only going to get tighter. Stick with me, and I promise to make it worth your while... if you give me reviews lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_People would die._

_His squad mates would die._

_His classmates would die._

_His parents would die._

_His friends would die._

_Aoi would die._

_Everyone would die._

_With the thought of people he cared about dying, Shin yelled as he was being swarmed by the massive groups of prisoners who had surrounded to kill him._

* * *

Shin screamed as the oncoming onslaught of prisoners overwhelmed him, rendering him unable to fight back as the motley of hands made every effort to punch, rip, or damage his armor as to get to his body. Some used their guns and fired at point blank range. Whether it be a magnum, rifle, or shotgun, they blasted away, knowing that the suited soldier was a danger to everyone there.

The cyborg's cries of pain and fear rang throughout the area as his body disappeared from view.

* * *

Aoi's heart stopped as the camera showed the crowd of enemy contacts overwhelm her prince. Despite the horrific acts that the boy had done in battle, she still cared about his safety. To see him suddenly get killed... it was just too terrible.

Blood was splattering into the air as the rebels shot toward the ground.

The pink-haired female suddenly experienced a disgusting feeling rise to her throat.

* * *

Shin faced the ground as he felt the rounds bounce off the back of his armor. Some of those rounds, however, managed to miss the metal of the suit itself and unfortunately hit the unprotected sections of his limbs and joints, tearing into the flesh of his body. A few even made it into his lower back, in between the stomach/lower abdomen plating and the upper torso armor. To make matters worse, none of these unlucky bullets were stopped, meeting only the light, black military-issued uniform. The only thing that actually slowed them down was his raw muscle power... and that didn't help against molded pieces of refined aerodynamic metal that traveled at three-hundred-fifty meters per second, with some being even faster than that.

He was going to die.

At this rate, his genetically enhanced body wouldn't be given the chance to heal itself with all those guns firing into him.

Shin closed his eyes, waiting for his passing to come.

Then he heard a loud sound. It grew louder and louder as whatever it was came closer to him. The men around him began to disperse and run into the opposite direction.

* * *

As the students watched the screen, Aoi made every effort not to throw up. She just had to watch what was going to happen to her savior.

Would he need saving as well?

Observing the scene, the classes watched as a hail of .50 cal bullets from a portable turret rain down on the enemies from a nearby building.

Allies had arrived.

* * *

Shin was on his hands and knees, trying to stay alive. He needed to live.

As the blood poured out from his wounds, he thought about the people he loved. His friends, his parents, his grandparents, and especially the princess of his life. The one who held his heart closest. Aoi.

He couldn't let something as trivial as death defeat him.

He had won once, why not again?

Slowly, the cyborg rose, lifting one hand to his knee to support himself. He struggled to raise his head, lightly gazing upon his squad mates that had saved him from a near-death experience. The silver-haired teen winced as the bullets were forced out of his body and the viral DNA began to do its work, regenerating his damaged flesh and muscle.

And then the soldier stiffened as he noticed the threats coming down from the sky.

* * *

"It seems that, thanks to this guy and his division, the rebellion has now dwindled down to a few stragglers running around to escape execution."

"Yes, yes it does... which Japan is very thankful for. JWN has received reports that the masked soldier we saw today was indeed a part of a joint operation between the Japanese and the Americans. Disturbingly, there is frightening confidential information involved, and we were not given this specific information."

The man and woman on the news talked about their own thoughts upon today's near-devastating event in history.

"So, Anne, what do you think about that guy?"

"The soldier? From JWN's specific scrutiny of his actions and behavior, we would normally say that he is a middle-aged, veteran soldier. However, there are some points that conflict with this answer."

"What would that be?"

"Well, Joe, I would say that for one, this _'veteran'_ had such a young voice. When he told our cameramen to get back to the extraction site, he sounded as if he were fresh out of the academy."

"Your right! I noticed that as well!"

"Another thing I had realized was his height. Despite the armor and helmet, he was a couple inches shorter than the other men that were supposedly his age. This brought me to think about certain possibilities as to why that may be... I came to believe that being younger, he hadn't had the time to fully develop – as most soldiers on the battlefield are above his height."

"Oh, I didn't see that... I was too drawn in by his amazing skills..."

"Well, aside from his skills, there was something very, very wrong about this picture here."

"What?" the man looked confused by his news partner's sudden inquiry of something being out of place. The woman's face turned into a questioning frown.

"Well, when all those prisoners practically emptied their guns into the armored soldier, he should have practically died, even if that special suit protected his vital organs. One can't live from receiving such damage to the body- it would cause immediate internal bleeding- which would also lead to death."

"Can't we assume that the metal pads of his suit inject some kind of bio-foam to stop that bleeding?"

"That's possible, but having so many bullets shot into you like that wouldn't give the bio-foam or any medical technology enough time to react. And shockingly, did you notice what happened after the enemies were shot down?"

"Y-yeah... he just... sorta stood up... He was bleeding though!" The man was incredibly confused as to what was going on.

"Yes... and the bullets fell from out back."

"Uh..." Joe didn't really know how to answer that.

A video replay was shown on screen, and sure enough, the image was zoomed in so that they could see the picture in slow motion as the bullets fell out with light smoky vapor visible behind the masked fighter.

"I have to say," Anne paused, taking a deep breath. "This soldier might actually be the world's first bio-engin-"

She stopped, a beeping alert sounding itself. The woman news reporter looked down at her screen and was ordered to inform the viewers of an emergency report concerning the current battle-zone.

"There is an emergency report! JWN will now broadcast the scenes live! Returning to the cameraman now!"

* * *

Shin looked up as the hordes of monsters landed around him, causing dirt and concrete to fly into the air.

Of course, to his team mates, who couldn't see the supernatural beings, the Hollow were invisible to them. To the squad it just looked like a whole shitload of mines were exploding all around the cyborg... who was standing still from the shock of encountering the masked beasts in such a place.

Then he looked around and noticed it.

All the souls of the men who he and his squad had killed... running around for their lives.

* * *

Masao watched as the lone figure stood as still as an action figure, explosions occurring all around him. The metal-suited soldier didn't dare move around as the blasts surrounded him, but not under him. Such luck.

But the thing was, the soldier didn't seem to shake in fear or show any signs of being scared at all. Who knew? Nobody would find out with a mask over his face. Turning his head to his friends' desks, he noticed that Harumi was quivering. Probably from shock of death in an area so close to them.

Even if it practically half a length of Tokyo to get there, it was still within the same metro...

The dark-haired boy turned his head again, but this time at Kin... who had oddly latched herself to Kazuhiko's arm. That was to be expected. Despite the bickering and arguing the two did all the time, they were the closest of friends. Maybe even more so than Aoi and Shin had been, although they had never admitted to liking each other or asking the other to go out with them.

Masao sighed. Couples were troublesome indeed.

* * *

Shin had one option.

Although the Hollow had now landed, if he didn't get away, the masked bastards would get him. He was sure of that.

To make matters worse, they would soon attack his living teammates. Since the soldiers couldn't see them, they wouldn't know how to defend themselves, let alone know what they were defending against. He had to quickly fix this without anyone know what was happening... especially those filming him on live television.

Closing his eyes within the helmet, he began to search within himself for the great deity of the world.

"Unleash your divine power... Izanagi!" Shin whispered.

A burst of energy erupted in a flash, causing the dirt and dust to create a haze all around the area. Immediately, Shin used the creator god's power to convert his physical body to that of his death god form, unsheathing his swords and ready to fight.

However, just as he had transformed, the Hollows had disappeared. Confused, Shin looked around, and KIRA pointed out an fluctuation within the atmosphere. The cyborg Shinigami looked up, seeing the sky ripped open, a dark portal in which the Hollow flew through to return to their world... with the Pluses within their hands and mouths.

What did this mean?

The cybrog calmly put his hands together, searching for the other deity, Izanami. Taking a slow, deep breath, Shin quickly reverted to his physical self and lay down on the ground a few meters away from where he originally stood, acting as if he were affected by the sudden explosion from the ground that was under him.

* * *

A total of four hours had passed. That was the entirety of the whole time it took for the prisoners to break out and for the military personnel to put down the rebellion.

Armed conflicts didn't last long these days. And that was exactly what Shin was thinking. Being a 'weapon' himself, the silver-haired soldier felt that with all these advancements to technology, wars would come to last days, not months. The last conflict between the Soviets and America had basically only ended within a short time period. However, there were more important thoughts on his mind as he rode with his squad within the airborne vehicle.

Those Hollow had come to do something. They hadn't attacked him, but merely picked off all those souls before any Shinigami from Soul Society could come to send the Pluses to their peace. The thoughts that came to mind gravely disturbed him. Of course, he thought of several other conclusions, but the first two that he thought of were the most probable. There could be no other answer but these...

The Hollows either came to get them for food, or to make more Hollows...

* * *

Takeshi and Manami huddled together on the couch as they nearly had a panic attack from watching the news.

They knew that their boy was at that site, fighting for his life. The father was especially proud with the boy's advanced skill, being able to shoot accurately without having to look at his opponents, and he felt even more proud when he saw that the masked soldier used hand to hand combat against the rebel heading towards the camera-guy.

The old man almost laughed when Shin pulled off the oldest trick in the book, pointing his gun at 'an enemy' and then running away while the others were distracted. Classic.

But the parents jumped and screamed when the crowd overwhelmed their boy, shooting into the ground... only to be instantly relieved that their son stood up, smoking as the bullets fell out from his back, fully healed.

Then the two nearly suffered from cardiac arrest when all those explosions came, and poor Manami fainted when the big one came from under their son.

How dare the military put Shin through all that danger just because he was a bio-engineered cyborg!

Takeshi clenched his teeth as he was going to make sure to pop the old Doc' in the face next time when he got the chance...

* * *

"Where are we going?" Shin peered over the edge, realizing that they had been flying over the ocean for about thirty minutes or so. Off in the distance, he could see with his eyes the mainland as nothing but a very thin strip. Turning his head, he saw a little island, smaller than most naval bases, but it was surely equipped with the materials needed for a port and military purposes.

"Currently Alpha, Bravo, and Delta teams are all heading toward a man-made Island – labeled Area 001A, about two or three leagues away from the mainland. As you and other super-soldiers are mostly from this region, the Americans and the Japanese military have agreed this as an HQ for you guys... and us," Delta One put a hand on his chest, indicating himself and the other normal soldiers, "who are to properly guide and train you."

Shin thought about that one. So far, it didn't really look like he needed training at all. KIRA and he proved to be invaluable in combat, other than that slight screw up at the end, but he still survived.

"Wait," Shin tensed, "Others?" He raised an eyebrow under his helmet.

"Yeah," Delta One began his explanation with Two being quiet, "We weren't really informed of this until yesterday, but it turns out you're actually SS011... and another Super Soldier is on its way."

"Its?" the cyborgs voice tensed.

"Oh – sorry," Delta two scratched his head, "They didn't tell us if it was a girl or boy. So far, I hear you're the only one who's been deployed into actual combat. I guess Dr. Archibald trusts his subjects."

"Hn," The silver-haired teen turned his head to look at the island that had now become bigger in view.

So there were more? Were they like him? Or were they different? If they hadn't, the other scientists inferred from the conversation might have been more careful in letting their subjects go free, or they had just simply done the experiment in such a way that the modified humans couldn't be let out yet. Which was it? He could only guess.

Good thing for his situation that he was allowed to have his own body with a cooperative AI installed.

"Landing in five," the pilot alerted the passengers, "four... three..."

"Wait a minute," Shin paused, remembering something crucial, "I have school tomorrow!"

* * *

"It has been brought to my attention that the captain of the Zero Division Squadron has been acting _out of order_ recently," a cold and snaky voice permeated the air, bringing to the bearer everyone's attention.

"Oh?" A more older and wiser voice responded, inquiring for more information. "And how is it, that our special_ Vaizard_ unit leader is behaving so oddly?"

"Recently he has been with a new Shinigami that is most interesting..."

The Vaizard leader and the Twelfth Division captain met eyes, glaring into each other's souls.

"And who is this... new Shinigami?" The First Division Captain asked.

"His dress is similar to that of an _Arrancar_... and with my analysis, he has more strength than any of the _Espada_ we've seen in the past. And oddly, he carries _**three**_ Zanpakuto!"

An uproar arose within the court of captains. Each shouted that it was very improbable, or even impossible. The Zeroth, First, Eleventh and Twelfth, remained silent as the others argued it amongst the possibilities of such circumstances.

"Enough!" the elder captain yelled, striking his staff on the ground for emphasis. "I want to know the full details of this. Kurosaki Taichou!"

Ichigo lowered his eyes and closed them, thinking of how to explain the situation to his seniors.

He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, letting the tension relieve itself.

Opening his eyes, the Zero-Division Squad captain was ready to tell the story of his grandson's existence into the Shinigami realm.

* * *

Shin stepped off the helicopter, gripping his weapons in a military-bred fashion, walking with a slight bounce in his step. He saw the mix of soldiers lined up on both sides of the runway away from the heliport, staring at him in his armor that screamed to them, 'I'm a super-soldier that can whoop all your asses!' Their own hands tightened around their weapons.

He wasn't just some bio-engineered soldier. He, unlike the other soldiers here, despite the one-time experience, had performed on the actual battlefield in a real-time, real-life situation... with extreme marks of excellence to back it up. Most likely, the military had all seen it on live world-news... even Kavanagh... he wondered what the American general would do now. Give him a higher rank?

As he walked behind the other two members of Delta Squad he was surrounded and escorted by Alpha and Bravo.

They reached the entrance.

After numerous security checks and identification verification, the soldiers were finally let in to the underground part of the facility.

Under nearly a mile of dirt, concrete, and steel, the facility was an extreme safe-house to the scientists and the subjects below.

A pair of soldiers came up to the group, leading them to the next are of the underground place according to orders from 'HQ'. However, another pair of soldiers came to separate Shin from the group. Following their order as prescribed by the higher-ups, the helmeted super soldier was taken to a room labeled 'Recreation'.

He was told to go inside and get to know the others until further orders arrived.

Shin was happy that he was allowed to keep his weapons, as long as the safety-locks were on.

* * *

He had arrived.

The ten people inside the vast recreation room immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at the newcomer.

Their appointed leader was here.

* * *

A/N: You're response to this chapter should be "OMGGGG THIS IS FREAKIN' AMAZINGNESS!!" or something along those lines.

Any questions you're probably having right now is probably something like, "Da Mayuri-dude spilled the beans!? What's Ichigo gonna doooo!?" or "What's Soul Society gonna do about Shin once they learn about him!?" or "There's more modified soldiers!? WTF – SUPER SOLDIER LEADER!? SUPER LEADER!? WAT DOES DIS MEAAANNNNN!? TELL MEES"

... something like that lol.

Well, I can only know about your thoughts in your REVIEWS. It's my writing fuel.


	18. ACT 02: GWS CH17

The leader arrives! How will the others react?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

_He had arrived._

_The ten people inside the vast recreation room immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at the newcomer._

_Their appointed leader was here._

* * *

The echo of the hard boot hitting the cold, tile floor reverberated throughout the entire area.

Freezing where he was, the owner of said metal-plated boot looked around to analyze his peers. So far, he had counted ten, and only ten. Among these ten, there were some taller than he, and some shorter. There were some who were younger, and some who were older. They were all roughly teenagers though.

But he... he wasn't just a 'teenager'. He wasn't like them.

The helmeted soldier could tell that the subjects in front of him had been here for a while, the way they had all been hanging together must have meant that they all had enough time to 'break-in' to the feeling of being here and form some kind of bond with each other. But the silver-haired cyborg simply disregarded that for now. For all he knew, he could be practically walking into unknown enemy territory... which was what he felt was happening.

Shin remained as stoic as possible, keeping his body motions fluid and free. It would build a sense of confidence that would seemingly give them the impression that he was unafraid. But he was alert, ready to fight in case these biological super soldiers were indeed insane or aggressive. From the looks of it, they weren't, but it never hurt to be too careful... especially if you came in with weapons, showing them that _you_ were the dangerous one.

Turning his head slightly, Shin found himself staring into the eyes of another super soldier.

The boy was taller than he, more muscular and of a bulky build. His hair was like fire, sort of like Shin's own bangs, but more red and alive with color. They stood up, spiked, making the male seem more likely to be a threat. His face tight, mouth shut, lips pressed together... but his eyes showed fear. Fear of the soldier who's cold, blue, visor-lenses gazed upon him.

He turned his head again, much more quickly, and turned upon younger one. She stood shaking, despite her alterations, revealing to him that she had no faith in her strengthened body, afraid that she didn't have much of a chance against the cyborg in front of them. His metal stare made her internally crumble, her breathing rapidly increasing.

Shin changed his attention again, looking to the others.

He scanned each one, finding he was indeed different. He was the only cyborg there. None of them had mechanical implants like he did. None of them had viral genetic coding within their cells.

They had been chemically altered, through means of a more safer surgery and bordering on the limits of mankind's ability to excel with their body. The other scientists had probably deemed such risks of gambling with the human genome and implantation put too much at stake.

Dr. Archibald had decided such risks were necessary, and as living proof, Shin could testify survival was definitely easier.

But would there be side effects?

He wouldn't know, he'd have to ask the Doc himself. But that was for later.

For now, he needed to... familiarize himself.

Quickly doing a visual search with KIRA's aid, Shin found a weapons terminals to the far left. He guessed it was a port for sending down weapons and ammo in case of an emergency. The armored soldier made note of the numbered stations, marking each soldier's designated spot. SS011 was spotted, and he slowly made his way towards the terminal.

Nobody aside from him dared to move, but allowed their eyes and heads to drag, following the armored being all the way to the weapons station.

The silver-haired teen quickly unloaded his weapons, opening up the machine and depositing his sniper rifle, his pistol, his assault rifle...

... then his shotgun.

Just as he was about to drop it in, he noticed an oddity in the carbon-based steel. The light metal had been stained with a color that was certainly out of place. He ran his fingers over the edge, letting the tip of his glove run over, testing to see if it would catch anything. It slightly brushed against the substance, but soon glazed over it. He followed the stain with his mechanical eyes, scanning as he went. Then he noticed the same stain went up his arm, patches of the same color, darkened and lightened in various places. Some were on his titanium armor, some placed over his black uniform underneath. As he followed the trail, the cyborg noticed that it ran up his chest-plate as well. Soon, larger stains became noticeable all over. His stomach, legs, and feet too.

He frantically searched with his special eyes, scanning everything. Catching a glimpse of the reflection in the metal, Shin stood absolutely still as he realized just what these odd marks were. Staring at his reflection who stared right back, he finally knew why everyone was afraid... why they were scared of him.

The stench of it had permeated everywhere, making the threat of him more formidable and intimidating.

The armored cyborg was covered in blood.

* * *

"Ne (Hey)," a girl's voice asked. "What do you think's going on?" Her voice was quivering, the vibrations of her sound twinging with subtle uncomfortable-ness. She sat, silent, waiting for a reply from her surrounded companions.

"I don't know," a boy's voice replied, "All I know, was that everything was fucked up. Especially that _guy_."

"I agree," another male's voice joined them. "I believe something is at work here, something we obviously don't understand."

"B-but," a different girls voice entered the conversation, "W-what could that be? I m-mean, how is this possible?"

A blue-haired boy, black-haired boy, brown highlighted-haired girl, and a blond girl sat around at a recreational center not far from their homes. They each sat to talk about the events that took place nearly four hours ago, discussing their questions on the mystery and center of it all: The silver-haired boy that had shown himself as "the hero".

Another girl sat with them, silent in her own right, listening to her peer's thoughts. Her pink hair fell over her eyes, making it hard to see her expression. Her mouth tightened, refusing to open and make word known to her friends sitting beside her. Her hands gripped the hem of her school uniform skirt, nearly crumpling the area of clothing.

She couldn't speak. The blue-eyed girl was in too much of a shock and was dealing with the stress of questioning the truth.

What was the truth?

Why had Kira gone on such a threatening endeavor, not even telling her that he was some kind of... military specialist? What was with that special armor, and the tremendous jump? What was with the whole 'amazing skill' in combat? What was with surviving the explosions that were supposed to kill? What was with the survival of bullets tearing through your flesh?

What was the truth?

Aoi threw facts back and forth. She had really become confused when that lady on the news had began her little 'deduction'.

"I think I may have found an answer," Masao broke the silence.

"An answer?" Kin and Kazuhiko asked at the same time, while Haruhi waited for Masao to continue. The pink-haired one also raised her head, curiosity winning her over.

"I believe... that there was a reason why that _Kira_ was here."

"Hmm?" Kazuhiko questioned. "I thought that he met Aoi at the funeral. That was random."

"Yes, but he kept showing up after that. And even after the next incident. Then he continued to stay even if there was no longer a reason for him to even be there."

"But there was a reason," Harumi interjected, "He was in love with Aoi..."

"Yes... but was he really in love with her?" the boy questioned the question that had everyone's mind's ringing.

Even Aoi had to question that. Despite the realistic scenes that she had experienced with him, had they really been honest, genuine happenings? Were they acted on Kira's part? Or was the silver-haired prince just that lucky in scoring a few points with her? She couldn't tell, the thoughts were getting too jumbled.

"The thing is," Masao continued his theory, "the crime rate in Tokyo is getting higher."

"So?" Kin asked, "What does that have to do with orange-boy?"

Everyone stared at her.

"S-sorry, he has orange bangs, thought it would be a funny nickname..."

It wasn't funny. Masao went on with his thoughts.

"Well, you all know of the Black Hand incident. There are many other dangerous groups like that out there."

"Like I said, what does this have to do with Aoi's new... _lover?_" The last word was stressed, almost as if it was spoken with forced difficulty.

"I'm talking about the current dangers our communities... no our families face. These violent, greedy bastards out there would do anything to get money, power, and control within the city... maybe even all of Japan."

The four of them just stared at the raven-haired boy.

"I'm saying, that maybe... just maybe... Aoi's father has something to do with this."

"What?" Kin blurted out.

"I said her father. He's the head of a medium-business class jewelry, right? Then he should be pretty wealthy."

"Wait," Kazuhiko paused the conversation. "What would the military have to do with..." His eyes went wide, realizing where Masao was getting at.

"B-but then why would Kira be here? What reason does he have?" Harumi asked, nearly shouting in the heat of the moment. "If Aoi's father needs to be protected, why protect Aoi?"

"Because," Masao closed his eyes. "His job of protecting Aoi's family would become easier. By getting close to the daughter, you get closer to parents, and ultimately in this case, her father."

Aoi could not believe what was said before her.

* * *

"So," an elderly voice rang throughout the large wooden room. "You mean to tell me that he is the creation of your own error?"

"Yes," a younger voice replied.

"But his abilities are not of your own doing?"

"Yes."

"So this still leaves us with nothing."

The twelve men in the room stared at the orange haired captain as the senior leader continued to question him.

It definitely was odd. From the details that the council could reap, Kurosaki Shin was certainly an odd case. Because of his lack of a chain, it was concluded that the boy had no soul link. Therefore, the boy certainly could not have become a Shinigami. However, there was one detail that bothered them all: The 'voice' that the teenager had claimed to hear from within his head.

Ichigo told them to the best of his ability about the facts that Shin had revealed to him, and tried to explain what that might have meant. He also described Shin's three sword-releases, and exactly what Shin had told him what happened behind the gates of Hell.

He didn't tell them about Shin's little 'meditation' session. If it came to be that Soul Society was to attack Shin, they would at least get the surprise of going up against such a ferocious source of power.

_Cocky bastards._ Ichigo felt that they'd have to witness his grandson's strength and mentally grinned at the thought.

There was also one more thing. Ichigo thought about Shin's total number of swords... which was now five. The boy had used three, but told the orange-haired cleaver-wielder that he still was not 'allowed' to use the two. So what did that mean? This, from the conversation, was now known by all the captains.

Another subject bothered the Vaizard. The genetic coding. When Shin transformed from human to death god, he retained all his ability from his current body. Keeping that DNA and physical ability, then to transfer it over to your spiritual body was an amazing advantage. Another thing the Zeroth Squad captain had left out.

Finally, was Shin's ability to convert. The boy hadn't told him yet, but Ichigo had noticed that every time the two sparred, or went out in death god form, Shin's body was nowhere to be seen. It was that one time before Shin went to plunge himself through the threatening doors of fire that the orange-haired Shinigami noticed that the silver-haired boy just... changed. Meditating on the spot, the Espada look-alike just transformed with a burst of energy. This was a sight to behold. The information was not withheld, and the other captains discussed amongst themselves if it was a side-effect of not having a chain.

He waited patiently for his senior's opinion as a drop of sweat formed on his brow, slowly dripping down his face.

"I have one more question," the First Squadron captain announced.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure that your grandson would not come to harm any Shinigami, nor aid any Hollow as a newly appointed Shinigami?"

"Yes, although I myself have yet to hear from him personally."

"Then this is my answer."

The others turned their heads, eager to hear the leader's choice.

"All Shinigami are to be alerted of Kurosaki Shin and his temporary probationary period. We will keep him under strict watch, and in the event that he does indeed do something to betray the death gods and the Thirteen Gotei Protection Squads..."

Everyone's attention was on the old man, ears open for the verdict.

"We will eliminate him."

* * *

Shin slowly turned around, now that he was free of his weapons.

He still had the combat knife, but it remained on the left side of his chest-plate, still unused. The boy figured he should have taken that off as well... too late now. He looked around for a table to lay his armor on. As the silver-haired god of death searched for them, he spotted a locker-room entrance. The still helmeted soldier did spot some cafeteria tables on the far right side, but decided to take the locker area instead of stripping in front of other kids any day.

As he walked, the other teenagers stood still, waiting as he opened the door and threw it aside, entering the room.

Inside, he quickly found his designated locker, and opened the metal receptacle, finding garments for everyday use... and a school uniform.

"I wonder where this came from?"

"Dr. Archibald probably had it specially delivered here. This is where you will be coming back for missions, you know?" KIRA inclined to answer.

"Oh..." Shin picked up the other clothes and lay them on the bench behind him.

Loosening the tight straps and peeling off the armor, Shin found that he smelled really bad.

"Damn," He held his nose as the stench of sweat and blood, literally, was seeping into his nostrils. "I smell like a battlefield."

"That's where you came from..."

"Ah, shut up."

The super soldier spotted a shower area and made haste to rid himself of the unbearable scent. Finishing his little washing and scrubbing session, he dashed over to wear the super soldier everyday attire.

It looked like everyday military-issued uniforms... except they were completely white. On the left shoulder and over the left breast, the cotton had sewn-in emblems indicating the soldier's status as a Super Soldier. On the right shoulder was his rank. Surprisingly, he had been promoted.

"That was fast..." Shin whispered as his fingers ran over the rank emblem.

"Well, that general did promise you a promotion if you proved yourself worthy... but to think you made it to Master Sergeant already..."

"Um..." Shin scratched his head. "There's different types of Sergeants?"

"Yes. In total, there are eight types of sergeant rankings, and you're in the middle. Just look it up in your Memory Data-Bank. It's in there."

The soldier shook his head, waving his orange bangs around as the tingly feeling of the information entering his 'awareness' began. He felt strange every time that happened, and hoped to avoid the process as much as possible... although it would make life much more difficult.

Willing for the HUD to activate the commands list, Shin watched as the clocking feature appeared.

Currently, it was 16:24... 4:24 PM according to the current time zone. He still had time to get home.

As in home... which was his own house where his parents were. Considering he was a super soldier, he was to live in with the others, but he could not accept this place as his actual 'home'. To Shin, it was still just a military facility that bio-engineered soldiers resided and trained. It wasn't home at all.

* * *

The ten watched as the door to the locker room opened.

They now stood facing in a semicircle fashion about four meters away, facing the ferocious warrior step out in his shining armor.

Except the armor wasn't so shiny. Instead, the soldier wore a white uniform... like theirs.

And he didn't seem so ferocious either. They actually saw him as a kind, gentle soul who had just put on an intimidating suit to scare them. But it couldn't be denied that he was indeed dangerous. They all saw the live news feed being transmitted to their room, showing his prowess in his first combat experience. They couldn't hope to stand up to that kind of situation... each one of the other super soldiers felt they would probably freeze during battle and fail the mission.

They viewed him with awe.

The shining metallic hair reflected the light a bit, and the reddish-orange bangs lit up the front of the boy's face, giving the impression that he was wearing a headpiece of material spun from silver itself that burned with intensity. Behind the fiery hair in the front were two, glowing sapphire eyes.

The other teenagers knew that he was indeed different. None of them had hair like his, or eyes that displayed such ethereal vision. None of them had that calm look and appearance of kindness. In fact, they all looked disheveled and surprised by his sudden entrance into their time of play and relaxation.

When each and every one of them looked at his face, it was like looking into the face of some hopeful god that had come for them...

To _guide_ them.

To _save_ them.

To **lead** them.

* * *

A/N: You know this chapter was just awesome. There are still many, many questions unanswered, but first I would like to hear all your own questions in the reviews. I want to hear your opinions, your thoughts, and just what you have to say about **Gekirin: The Way of the Shinigami**.

It will give me the inspiration to write and continue to further the story of Shin and his world of Bleach.


	19. ACT 02: GWS CH18

The beginning of crumbling friendships and the birth of new ones, Shin begins his journey of hardship.

A/N: I was very busy this last week, and will be busy this present week, and also the upcoming week. Please forgive me! I'm trying hard to write chapters after coming home very late and trying to get some sleep in!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any original characters produced by Tite Kubo or Studio Perrot.

* * *

When each and every one of them looked at his face, it was like looking into the face of some hopeful god that had come for them...

To _guide_ them.

To _save_ them.

To **lead** them.

* * *

Shin felt awkward.

He felt a little odd, seeing that all of his peers' expressions had gone from "I'm scared, he's gonna kill us," to... an expression he wasn't really familiar with, but it wasn't something really bad. To him, it looked like some sort of awe or admiration. The sudden change in atmosphere was definitely something the sixteen year old wasn't used to, especially if it was grouped with all this attention. The silver-haired cyborg thought to himself, wondering what could have possibly altered the flow of stimuli within the environment, allowing for such a peaceful, warm moment to take place.

It wasn't that he didn't like it, it was just... too weird.

As one who formerly fought all the time in school, he wasn't too liked by many others and the only people who really cared were his friends. Now that he had been out of the picture, the amount of time to feel that experience was limited, and certainly affected him since he wasn't ready for it. To make matters worse, no one would say a word.

Who would break the silence first?

Him? Or them?

As a minute rolled on, the door flew open as several men walked in.

"Yo!" The team leaders walked in, shattering the eerie noiselessness. Shin sighed a sigh of relief, thanking the deities who lay within the recesses of his soul.

The other ten around him suddenly snapped to attention, saluting the men according to training, showing that they were used to doing it for a while. Shin followed suit, not really knowing if he was supposed or not, but assumed that it was sort of like being in a war movie... a real life war movie.

"At ease," Alpha One gave them the signal to lower their hands, giving them the freedom to relax. "Well," he turned to the cyborg, a mixed look of gleam and curiosity on his face, "I don't know how you managed to pull it off, but you just jumped several ranks. At this rate, you might even be a Lieutenant like me after a few missions!"

"Uh... I don't think that's possible... sir." A sweat drop was evident on the young teen's forehead as his eyes darted back and forth from the team leaders, then to the super soldiers around him.

"Sure you can!" the man laughed, patting the boy's shoulder over and over again, causing him to shake as each pat had the strength of a punch. "You just gotta pull off a mission successfully! Although I have to say... if it weren't for that _risky business_ at the end I think you could have become a Sergeant Major already..."

Shin's eyes widened._ I could have skipped all those ranks in one shot?_

"Yeah kid," the Alpha team leader hung an arm around the cyborgs neck, using his other free hand to wave in the air, "Imagine... A kid like you with the officer's rank after two or three missions. All the more possible now that you're some kind of _superhero_. Ha... hahahahah!"

'Alpha One' quickly turned and covered his mouth, trying not to laugh... at Shin's comical face of confusion and shock.

"Forgive him," the Bravo team leader sighed, palming his face at the idiotic action of his fellow squadron leader. "He gets like that. You'll understand after having a few more missions with him."

"Er... Yes sir..." Shin was still a little worried about how things would work out, but was willing to try how things worked. It was definitely easier if KIRA was going to help out. However he was thinking about what the Alpha squad leader had said. Was he really some kind of super human? All he did was run around, shoot and kill, then survive a near death experience... which would have meant certain death for some people.

So he just had an increased survival rate. But how did that separate him from the other men? Of course, he had better equipment and investment, but he lacked experience and the ability to control his emotions.

He was honestly scared.

The so-called 'god of death' was scared of killing, having realized that he had ended many lives when he saw all those souls running in circles, screaming for their lives that they would not go to 'hell'. But instead, they were given a worse fate. A fate of becoming food for unimaginable dark beasts of the true underworld... all because he had killed them. At the time, he had passed it off, believing that it was okay to kill because it was a battle, an armed conflict. But was it really fine to just shoot someone and run off to shoot the next?

Thinking about it, Shin realized that he was going to have to fight. Regardless of his position, he was going to fight, because he was chosen to do so.

If he had a higher survival rate than other men and women in the service, would it not be better if he could take their place? Wouldn't it be better if he could prevent them from entering that dangerous situation that would cost them their lives?

The bio-engineered super soldier now knew his place after analyzing the facts.

He was simply the new alternative. He and his fellow unit of 'super-beings' were created to protect their allies, and destroy their enemies.

If that was the case, so be it.

* * *

She walked on, gazing at the stores on the way home.

They were filled with stores she was familiar with, having stopped by with friends and other acquaintances to shop for clothes, gifts, and the 'little things' that brought upon memories. Some where filled with happiness, having brought on those thoughts that brought a smile on her face, brightening her overall expression entirely. Others... they soured her mood, reminding her of the pain of losing her best friend and only true boyfriend, Shin.

Aoi let her mind dawdle on those thoughts, thinking about why she ever fell for that silver haired wonder: Kamiwa Kira. All he did was save her a few times from some very unlucky incidents, but that was no reason to let herself chase after an acquaintance, let alone a complete stranger who seemed to magically appear... at her own boyfriends funeral.

That was the worst of it all.

She had completely fallen for someone she had never seen, never known, and never had a complete conversation with at a very important parting ceremony of her lifelong friend who she had known since kindergarten, did nearly everything with, and talked about deeper things from their own experiences.

And there she was, prancing on, having this _stranger_ defend her from her own friends.

There was another bad thing too. The bright, blue-eyed girl hadn't even told her other best friends, and of course, they knew. They knew something was up when Kira had saved her in front of that pizza place while they watched. They knew that she had begun to fall for him when she cried about him in that police station in his defense and fled from her parents. They knew, and she had been trying to hide it from the friends she held dear, pushing them away.

Aoi felt as if she where the worst type of scum, but couldn't help but feel that she had no other choice but to believe in this mysterious stranger.

He was her only possible way out from the pain-filled journey called life..

* * *

"Y-yeah, so my name is Kurosaki Shin, Code Name: Kamiwa Kira."

"You don't have to sound so nervous, bozu."

"Oi, oi, cut him some slack, man."

"Listen to your superior now..."

It wasn't that he was nervous. It was the three men next to him on the ground that made him feel quite awkward. To think that he had actually gone on a serious mission with these men only an hour ago... unbelievable.

"Well, kid," the Alpha team leader piped up, "why don't you tell them something about yourself? Like eh..." The man put a finger to his lip and then proceeded to raise an eyebrow, pondering upon the subject. "Like if you have ever been in love with someone, heheheh..."

"Actually," a grin came up to Shin's face, "I have... and still am."

"W-what!?" The three senior veterans eyes nearly popped out. The other super soldiers looked as if they were about to suffer from a heart attack... to see their future leader so bold... Alpha One jumped, "When did this happen!?"

"Well..." a hazy look washed over the boy's expression, as if he were entranced by his memories. "I had known her since kindergarten... practically my whole life..."

"Ohh..." The three men where totally into it now.

"I finally got the guts to ask her out in high school, about two weeks ago... but..."

"But!?" they desperately wanted to know.

"A thug ran out into the street on our first date and and tried to shoot her... so I pushed her and got shot instead... so I died."

The atmosphere then became absurdly gloomy for the next fifteen minutes as some of the girls looked like they were about to cry.

* * *

"Squads Three and Four, track Tango Squads Two and Three. Hold Fire – _static_."

"Roger that, A1, B1 confirming."

"C1, checking in, confirmed order."

"D1 here, order secure."

"E1 ready and confirmed."

Five squads prepared themselves, getting into position as their feet pounded against the sun-baked soil. They're breathing was relatively calm, but five groups of four men each amounted to various sounds of inhaled and exhaled air as the oxygen was pumping through their lungs. The sound of leather tightening could be heard as a few of the men gripped their rifles harder, readying themselves for Operation Burst.

Currently, the American forces were securing a perimeter around the excursion site in the cover of darkness, with the moonlight making their shadows dance along the sand-covered dirt. After receiving news of rebellion within the Japanese nation, the people of the long, war-ridden Saudi Arabia had yet to yield. For the past fifty years, the country had become a zone of civil war and strife among the people between those who wanted reform and those who longed to stick with the old ways. Considering that the United States of America had come to gain Iran, Iraq, and Syria in 2023 A.D. in the Great Eastern Conflict involving much feared terrorism, the American government noticed that lately, the larger of the middle eastern countries' conflicts were now becoming more of a threat to land that was now considered U.S. soil.

This was also another grave problem, considering that when the Americas took over the major sect of those middle eastern companies, they had gained access and authority to much-needed fuel and resources. To lose that now would mean trouble for the mainland's economy.

So, the American authorities passed the vote to take initiative action against Saudi Arabia, performing an armed intervention against the hostile country. Hopefully by doing so, the middle east would calm down once more. To start, Operation Burst was about to begin in 00:04 (4 Minutes). The marines sent to the area came in on foot to avoid detection from the enemy. The Operation, specifically, was a plan to have the marines infiltrate a rather important outpost as determined by Intel, then quickly load a computer virus to any online terminals. After the virus had done its job of raiding the opposition's information and sent the necessary data back to HQ, the troops would then proceed to plant packs of C4 explosives and ditch the place... all of this done within a short span of 00:30 (30 Minutes).

It was seemingly impossible, but it had to be done. Information sources had declared that this seemingly harmless outpost was in fact under 'disguise' to hide important documents and to prevent the American forces from finding out about its plans to attack nearby U.S. owned land sites.

To gain this data would be crucial, and HQ would find the soldier's efforts invaluable, thus promoting them and boosting morale.

So far, it looked good. The Americans were years ahead in terms of technology and weaponry, as the people of Saudi Arabia were so into fighting they didn't bother to take the time to 'catch up'. Of course, the middle east now had the means to hack and infiltrate databases, but only on a light level. Nothing harmful to the bigger and more developed nation of the west.

The squad leaders checked their time.

Only two more minutes.

* * *

He smiled.

His obscenely large smile revealed his second set of teeth, hidden within his 'mouth'. Looking far into the distance, he could see through the holes of his mask, eyes glowing red, that much blood would be spilled.

Blood. The red liquid that spray out of bodies when you shot them. The addicting substance that poured when you slashed them. The bright color of red that gushed when you stabbed them.

He smiled as he loved fighting. The thought of driving his prey into a corner and then tearing them apart into little pieces with his razor-like blades sent a delicious shiver up his spine.

Oh he was so going to love this night...

* * *

"Weapons Free! Operation Burst commence!"

All units rushed the base.

Alpha One looked forward, watching his teammates back. They were going to enter the outpost, destroy the area, then leave. Simple.

Running, something wet hit his eye.

Quickly raising his gloved hand to wipe it away, he noticed the dark red color, and the fresh smell of bodily fluids suddenly hit his nose, making him halt and revolt. Pausing to see where the blood had come from, he completely froze, seeing small explosions go off all around him, spraying the hard dirt and sand around him. Trying to cover his face from shrapnel that may have come from the mines, he ran forward, wasting no time to be caught in a battlefield. Perhaps the enemy had spotted them. Even if the enemy had no idea they were going to be there, it was highly likely that a patrol had spotted them and activated the defenses.

Running onward, the noticed his teammates where no longer with him.

Quickly turning his head back, he saw the three bodies of his squad mates lying face down, covered in faint traces of what he saw as blood. Damn.

Hissing at the loss of his men, A1 looked up at the edge of the wall. Two Arabian soldiers had aimed their guns at him and began to fire.

Instincts kicking in, the Alpha team leader dropped to one knee and began to use his momentum to slide on the sandy floor of the desert. He fired bursts of bullets from his rifle, but missed his targets. He hissed again as they took aim to shoot at him again. However an unexpected event occurred.

As the man slowed down to a stop, he watched as the insides of the two enemies explode from within, spraying their blood and inner organs everywhere. A look of shock was written all over his face as his mind just registered what happened. He heard an enemy run from around the corner of the wall, but that man suddenly imploded from the inside out as well.

"W-what?" De sat there as the gunfire began to die down, bodies of allies and enemies alike began to burst open with gruesome detail.

Then he himself felt his left shoulder rip open as some unknown force slammed him to the ground. Pain coursed itself throughout his entire body, making his limbs twitch from the shocking sensation of nerves dying out.

As he neared death, he began to see something standing over him, _looking_ into his eyes.

It was a masked creature with blood-red eyes, and the most ridiculous amount of teeth he had ever seen. It seemed to giggle in mirth from all the death and blood. The being raised its other free hand, twisting the one lodged within the soldier's shoulder, wedging it deeper into the wound.

Flinching, the man could barely hear the monster speak, but could hear the faint words as they where whispered out so maliciously and full of evil delight.

"Ohh hohoh... I'm going to enjoy this."

The lieutenant saw the bladed claws come down and that was the last thing he ever heard.

* * *

"Alpha! Bravo!..." the radio technician yelled into the microphone. "Charlie! Delta! Echo!"

"HQ! HQ! - _static_ -This is B3! Everyone's suddenly blowin' up inside out! Oh my god... Oh my – GAAAAAHHHH-" the transmission was suddenly cut off as the man's voice died out and the signal ended with a simple static sound.

Kavanagh stared at the speaker as Bravo Three's radio connection sounded throughout the entire command center.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked his satellite techician.

"I-I don't know sir," the man sat in his chair staring at the LCD screen. "I-it seems that... everyone, including enemies have internally combusted..."

"What?" the four-star general peered over to see the screen as a replay was executed.

As said, the screen showed various human beings, regardless of whatever side they belonged to, exploded from the inside. However, one thing caught his eye.

"Replay that section back again, from 01:36 to 01:40, in the North-East Wall."

"Yes sir, right away."

The video clip repeated itself, but with a close up on a different area.

The marine general watched as the lieutenant in charge did not blow up like the others, but dropped to the ground as his shoulder exploded. Then a few seconds later, the man's head had split open, spraying his brains everywhere.

What really caught Kavanagh's eye was that Alpha One was killed in a different way than the others... and that he had specifically died _last_.

So what did that mean?

There where many options, but the most plausible was that the enemy either had new technology to blow up people with some kind of new weapon and didn't care about their own men in the area, or had invisibility abilities. But neither was possible for the soldiers of Saudi Arabia. They simply did not have the funds to create and develop such advanced technology... unless a hidden supporter had provided them with it.

But once again, that was also very unlikely, seeing that many countries had shown their resolve not to get involved like the U.S. had. But it was possible.

The armed forces leader needed to get answers and solve the problem... fast.

For this, he would have to call in very _special_ group of people, involving one silver-haired man he had promoted just recently.

* * *

A/N: There is a reason why Aoi acts the way she does – It was a writers block that I've avoided confronting because I hadn't really figured out how to put it in words. Good thing I figured it out. I really, really don't want her to appear as a "Mary Sue", but her behavior is the way it is because of something goin' on here, trust me!

So expect some change in her character some time in the future, as you may have seen some now.

Anyway, Shin is now going to get involved in an epic struggle between humanity and its confusion against the onslaught of the spiritual monsters of Hueco Mundo, the Hollow. Anticipate it!

... and Review! Even if I'm busy, reviews will motivate me to write more for my beloved readers!


	20. Rewrite Notice

This is a message to all who have read, was going to read, or was looking forward to reading my fanfiction.

I am rewriting Gekirin - The Way of the Shinigami.

It is now: Gekirin - Shinigami no Seito. (Shinigami's Path of Life).

This story (that I am discontinuing) didn't go quite the way I wanted it to and I was busy with school. So I am rewriting it.

I'm not scrapping it, just remolding it to something better than it could have been.

So I hope that everyone who reads this will look forward to my new work and send in helpful reviews!

Note: GSS will not be as lovey-dovey, but more of a darker tone... and the doctor's not sane. lol.

Oh yeah, and expect some name-changes (sorry if this disappoints you).


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